Sandraudiga
by Shizue-sejin
Summary: 'Sandraudiga: ancient germanic goddess. Meaning: She who dyes the sands red.' Alexandra Bells has always been 'special', making her feel like distancing herself is the only way to live, so when Tony Stark finds out it is bound to attract some unwanted attention. Meeting other 'special' people isn't as comforting as one would think. Alex is definitely NOT happy.
1. Party

Hey Guys! I just started writing this when I was bored, I have actually no idea where this is going but I'll try to keep writing it. If for some reason I decide to stop I will most definitely inform you.

* * *

Alexandra Bells walked past Stark Tower gazing up at the darkening sky, swinging the plastic bag full of chinese takeaway, not caring if all the food got messed up. She took a subway line and headed home, listening to some of the loudest music she had on her cellphone and trying to shut out the world. She went up the elevator and grabbed the department's keys out of her pocket with a leatherclad hand. Pushing the door open with her elbow she turned on the lights and walked to the open kitchen, her high heels tapping the hardwood floors.

Alex dropped the plastic bag on the counter and kicked off her shoes, she hung her jacket on a high chair and walked to one of the windows. In complete silence she grabbed a packet of cigarettes from a drawer and lit one, leaning on the window frame and sighing, watching the lights of NYC. After finishing the single cig she dropped it out the window and walked to the fridge. Before opening it her eyes landed on a note she hadn't taken down yet.

_"Sweetheart. _

_I transferred $2000 to your account for you to buy food with this month. Don't forget to feed your dad. Pay the bills. Keep your school marks up. Don't gain weight. Don't get into fights, I'm too busy to talk to your teachers. I'll be back in a month._

_Mom" _

Alex's eyes saddened for a second before blanking again. She swung the door open and took out a bottle of coke. She poured two glasses and put one of them on a tray along with her dad's food. She walked down a hall and walked into her father's study. He hadn't been out of the room in at least three years, if you didn't include the bathroom that was attached to it.

"Dad?"

He didn't look up at her from his computer, too fixated on developing his own language to look up at her.

"I brought you dinner."

"Leave, I'm busy."

Alex left, not bothering to say anything, and walked straight to the livingroom, grabbed her dinner and sat at the table with her homework next to her. She took out her french first, seeing as she was fluent she could do that the quickest. She also had biology and physics homework which wasn't as bad as it sounded seeing as it wasn't hard at all. Senior subject were easy and she could spend the rest of the day, and most of the night, composing her music.

Dumping the leftovers in the trashcan she walked to her room, passing by her dad's study and ignoring the tapping of the keyboard. She opened the door and stepped in her room, taking a few moments to look around. Her bed was high up on poles, her computer was on a small table stuck to the wall with small bookcases next to them, filled to the brim with all her books. Her literature ranged from classics to poetry, in english, french, italian, chinese and japanese. On the ground her various musical instruments were scattered around. Her cello, her violin, her spanish guitar, her electric guitar, her base guitar, her keyboard and her drum set.

She opened a window and lay on her bed, lighting another cigarette and taking a long drag. Her eyes travelled around her room, fixating themselves on single things at a time. Her littered clothing, her small notebooks and pens. She closed her eyes, keeping her lit cig between her red lips and took off her gloves, tracing the small cuts on the tops of her fingers.

She had always been alone, she was used to it. Her mother was obsessed with her job which forced her to constantly travel around the world. A conference here, a convention there. All in all, she wasn't home for more the a day at a time. Her father was a linguist, he was currently developing his own language to the point that he hadn't been out of his study for three years, and out of the apartment for at least five.

When she went to primary school the teachers frowned on her having to go home herself so her mother picked her up, but only at 9 PM. She would stay in the school library and read bookshelves at a time. Because of that she had mastered languages, instruments, some martial arts and had no difficulty with school. It seemed she was smart. Very smart even. But her parents didn't care. She didn't even know when they had stopped caring.

That was a lie. She knew very well when.

On her fourth birthday.

She had cut herself with a knife when she had tried to slice the cake. Blood had poured down her hand and almost fallen to the floor. Her mother had just bought a new carpet and would have yelled at her if she had stained it. She, as a small child, had prayed for the drops of blood not to fall. And they didn't. They froze in mid-air and hung there, like scarlet flecks of dust.

Alex opened her eyes to see thin strings of blood floating from the cuts on the tops of her fingers. They stretched and twirled and finally, at a mindless thought from her, retreated back into her hand. Her blood didn't dry, so the cuts were always open. She could manipulate the red substance freely, making it hard of making it flow away. She could use it to coat her hands when she punched someone and make her punch even harder.

Her mother hated it. Her father too. They never looked at her the same after that. Always that distrust in their eyes, always that disgust. They did their best to stay away from her. They avoided her as if she would hurt them and only made sure she was living comfortably and had enough money for whatever she wanted. Other than that, they kept away from her. They were not her family as far as she was concerned.

Stomping out the cigarette she jumped down from her bed. She strode over to her cello and started playing. She played one of bach's compositions, just to get herself warmed up. She ignored the pain of the chords cutting into her already cut fingertips, digging into her flesh, and merely made sure that no blood stayed behind.

Music, to her, was an escape, just like learning new things. She relished in it. It gave her something to do. It distracted her from the silence around her, from the emptiness that filled her inside. Oh, by no means was she a stranger to physical contact. Her mother, focussing on keeping public appearances, had insisted that she looked her best at all time. This lead to her having various amorous affairs. Her fingers left the chords and traced her left cheekbone. There had been a couple of times that the men she selected had been... rough to say the least. Bruises were basically blood that pooled under her skin and, while it was painful, she could force the blood back into her veins, so no one had ever found out.

She strode over to her keyboard, picking up one of her notebooks on her way, and prepared herself spend another whole night working on her latest project. She often had sleepless nights and she knew tonight would be one of them.

* * *

Leggings with rips in them. Short gray skirt, school uniform. White blouse. Black tie. Grey jacket, school uniform. Black leather gloves. Black leather high-heeled shoes. Black backpack filled with books. Red lips. Black eyeliner. Long black hair falling into eyes and covering her shoulders, falling past her shoulderblades.

Alex put a cup of coffee on her dad's desk along with some toast and left the apartment. She strode out of the building and walked to the nearest subway station, plugging her earphones to her cellphone and putting on music. She sat down in one of the chairs in the subway car and took out the notebook she'd been working with the whole night and kept on working, hearing the music in her mind and making the appropriate corrections.

She got to school soon and walked to the english classroom, ignoring the teacher and her classmates who were all used to her mental absence. She sat in her usual spot by the window and shut herself off from the rest of the world.

Alex was unaware of the eyes that had followed her since she stepped into the room. Dark brown eyes belonging to Trey Jerry. Trey was one of the only people that ever bothered to talk to her. He liked talking to her, even if she was in a bad mood often... all the time. She always helped him with his algebra if he asked, even if she scowled all the time. He could even say he liked her, but then again, he liked everyone. But since he was rich... most people liked using him. He was so used to it he stopped caring. Then the first time he had tried talking to her she had told him to jump off a cliff. Not being used to being treated like a normal person he started to talk to her more, until she was the only person he could trust to be honest to him. She was the only person he considered a friend.

His fangirls didn't like it.

Smiling he stood and sauntered over to where she sat, he pulled back the chair and let himself fall, carefully ignoring the whispers that followed him. He merely kept looking at her expectantly. Her eyes travelled away from her notebook up to his. She reaised her eyebrown as a silent question. He just smiled.

"Good Morning Alex."He said with a bright smile.

"Morning." Her voice was soft and feminine, but had a small hint of annoyance. "What do you want?"

He shrugged. "Oh, nothing. Just thought you could use some company. Did you do your biology homework?"

"Yes."

"I didn't get it."

Alex groaned softly but burried her hand in her schoolbag, retrieving her biology notebook and dropping in in front of him. "Copy the homeowork, I'll explain during lunch."

"Ah, great! Thanks! Having you as a friend rocks!" He gave her a huge smile. He grabbed his own notebook and started copying the answers, reading the neat handwriting easily. Every now and then his eyes would travel up to her face, only to have her bright golden eyes snap away from her notebook and meet his. She'd raise an eyebrow, he'd smile and shake his head, she'd look back down to her notebook, glare at it slightly and he'd snigger.

"Thanks." He put the workbook back in her bag. "Hey, there's a party my parents were invited to tonight, I have to go. Wanna come with me?"

"No."

"Ah, come on."

"No."

"Please?"

She glared up at him. Then she looked around as if she just noticed everyone around them. They were all quiet, having followed the exchange with awed expressions on their faces. First at _him_ actually asking _her _to go to a party with him and then _her _turning _him _down. She rolled her eyes and turned back to him.

"Where?"

"Tony Stark's mansion."

Alex groaned silently.

"Do I have to? Can't you ask someone else?"

Trey scowled at her. "No."

"Fine."

"Great! I'll pick you up at nine."

* * *

Alex stood leaning against the window frame in the kitchen, smoking a last cigarette before being picked up. The lights were out and she could only look outside into the city. The cigarett hung limply between her lips while one of her lace-gloved hands fingered her hair, which had been tied up in a braid with a red ribbon. Her other hand traced the golden embroidery on her black dress absentmindedly, her back laced fingers interwining with the black and red smooth silk easily. Her eyes had been left natural, with no eyeliner, and the gold of her dress really brought out the melted gold of her eyes. The dress had one strap over her right shoulder and came down just past her knees and she wore black high heels which finished the outfit nicely. Of course the whole 'wearing a dress'wasn't her cup of tea as she barely ever even wore a skirt but... the things she did for Trey. He was the only one she could stand.

The bell rang and she put out her cigarette. She grabbed her formal coat and shoved her phone into one of the pockets. She left the building, the ringing of her keys against her phone barely registering, and walked to Trey, who stood in front of a black car, dressed in a suit and talking through the window to someone. He looked up at her and his eyes widened as he took in her appeareance.

"Hey." She mumbled, pouting slightly at her discomfort in a dress.

"Hey... You look..."

"Normal?"

"Good?"

"Your surprise insults me." She pointed out in a slightly put off tone before opening the door for herself and getting into the car.

Trey took a second to compose himself before stepping in beside her and facing his parents.

"Mom, Dad, this is Alex. She's my friend." He looked up at his mom who was studying Alex with eagle eyes and his dad who was already shaking her hand eagerly. It had been some time since he had introduced anyone to the, let alone a friend. He was just glad Alex hadn't insulted his mom for staring at her... but he should give her more credit. Just because she usually didn't give a crap about politeness didn't mean she couldn't do it.

"It's lovely to meet you Alex!" Christoff Jerry started.

Alex answered with one of her incredibly rare smiles and Trey couldn't help but notice that she scootched just slightly away from his dad.

* * *

"Ah, Christoff, Leah! Glad you could make it! Who're these?"Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthopist and Iron Man walked towards one of his loyal board members and wife. His whole livingroom was filled with guests and Pepper was busy entertaining many of them, Rhodey was somewhere talking to his siperiors and frankly, he was bored.

"Tony!" Christoff Jerry smiled and shook his hand enthusiastically. His face was folded into a smile and his green eyes twinkled from behind his glasses. Leah, who was wearing a dark blue dress, smiled and extended her hand to shake Tony's, who instead of shaking it lifted it to his lips and placed a kiss on her knuckles.

"This is my son, Trey, and his friend Alex." Christoff provided, placing a hand Trey's shoulder.

"Honor to meet you sir." Trey smiled brightly and shook Tony's hand. "This my date- though we only came here as friends- not that there would be anything wrong with dating her- oh, but I just like you as a friend!" By this time he was actually talking to Alex while the adults looked on in amusement at the akward boy and the girl who merely raised her eyebrows. She rolled her eyes.

"Enough Trey, I get it." She turned to Tony and extended her hand. "Alexandra Bells, mr Stark, pleasure to meet you."

He also raised her hand to his lips. "Pleasure is mine miss Bells."


	2. Trey

"So you're saying, correct me if I am wrong, that you honestly believe that the more complicated a composition is the better it is? Absolutely not, there are some masterpieces that do not have anything overly complicated about them, a masterpiece isn't made by the amount of instruments in it!" Alexandra stood facing Jarvis with a half empty glass of coke in her hand. Her eyebrows had been pulled together in a scowl and by the way her other hand was tapping the glass of the window agitatedly it was easy to deduce that she was reasonably annoyed.

"What is going on here, Tony?" Pepper came up from behind and rested her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow at the strange sight before her. A strange girl, arguing with a computer of all things, held the interest of Tony Stark, board member Christoff Jerry, his wife and his son.

Tony smirked in amusement and looked at Pepper with a childish glint in his eyes. "Jarvis is having a musical debate with miss Alexandra Bells, Trey Jerry's escort, who seems to be quite an expert. They already talked about the development of different types of music." He winked at Pepper "It's lots of fun."

"Oh, she is quite an expert mr Stark." Trey cut in. "She always has a small notebook with her during class in which she composes music. I've never heard any though." He added as an afterthought.

"Well…" Pepper watched for a second "She seems quite ardent."

Trey frowned at this. "Yeah… I've never seen her this interested in participating in a conversation before. Normally she tells the person to piss off and is done with it. Even when she got into fights before she seemed unbearably bored all the time."

"You're impossible!" They were interrupted by Alex's exclamation as she turned her back to Jarvis and strode over to them. She pushed her empty glass into Trey's hands "Get me another." She bit out and Trey hastily left to do as he was told.

"Trey tells us you get into fights?" The air around them suddenly got tense as Leah's slightly acid voice cut through the warm atmosphere. Tony noticed with amusement that Alex's gloved fists balled for a second before loosening again as she turned to the older woman.

"I used to. I'm not really good at making friends and many people annoy me. Teenagers tend to listen better to fists than to words." Alex didn't smile, she just met Trey's mom's eyes blankly.

"Here you go Alex, sorry I took so long there were other people getting drinks." Trey came back slightly out of breath scratching his dark blonde hair absentmindedly.

"No, thank you, Trey."

"What did I miss?"

"Nothing."

A moment passed with everyone looking at each other awkwardly except for Alex, who didn't give two shits, and Tony, who was having lots of fun.

"So you compose music?" Tony started. "You planning on doing something with that later?"

"I plan on getting into Julliard, after I move out of my parents' house."

"Have you found a place yet?" Trey asked "Because I was planning to go to university here and get an apartment too, we could share one and share the rent."

Alex looked at him blankly for a second. "I'll think about it." Trey's face split into a large grin as she rolled her eyes. "Excuse me." She went to where she had left her coat and withdrew a cigarette and a lighter from a pocket. She went to the terrace and leaned on the balustrade looking down at the city in silence.

"So how do you know Trey?"

Alex jumped before her eyes landed on Stark. She exhaled some smoke before answering. "School."

"Really? Because it seems to me that you two are very different, not who you'd expect either of you to hang out with. It doesn't really seem like you like him either." Tony smirked, looking at her from the corner of his eyes.

She scowled. "I didn't like him. He's annoying."

"Didn't?"

She was silent for a second. "He crept up on me."

Tony laughed. "It doesn't seem like you have lots of friends."

"He's the only one. The rest are just trash."

"Am I trash?"

"Arrogant trash."

"You know you love me, just like everyone else."

She turned to him with a raised eyebrow. "Trash." She emphasised.

"I will grant you the honour of calling you my friend. From now on you are one of my few friends, wether you like it or not."

"I don't like it."

"Of course you do, why wouldn't you?"

"You want all the reasons?"

"There are no reasons."

"Why would you want me as a friend anyway?"

"The same reason Trey does… or maybe the same reasons he had at first." He winked at her and walked back inside.

Alex's eyes followed his back for a bit before turning back to the city. She dropped her cigarette and closed her eyes for a second, trying to rid herself of the migraine Tony Stark had caused.

* * *

"Since the problem seems to be too complicated for any of you to resolve, why don't we ask miss Bells to supply us with the answer?" Tobias Smith, chemistry teacher at the Frederick Douglas Academy in Manhattan, liked making his students feel stupid when his favourite student could provide the answer other could not. His smile slipped off his face though, when she did not answer. Causing many students, including Trey Jerry to look to the back of the lab where she usually sat. "Miss Bells?"

Alex's head snapped up from resting on the palms of her hands. Her face was very pale and she had dark rings under her eyes. One could clearly see her body shaking.

"Miss Bells, are you feeling alright?"

"What?" Her voice was softer than normal and it seemed to be difficult for her to speak. "Yes, yes I'm fine. Uhm." Her eyes snapped to the board behind mr Smith and she narrowed her eyes and shakily stood up. Slowly she walked to the board, either oblivious to or ignoring the worried looks cast at her by pretty much everyone in the room, as it was highly unusual to see her in such a weak state. She reached the board and with quick, fluid writing she wrote down the answer. Then she turned around and walked back to her seat, every now and then reaching out to the corners of the tables to steady herself.

Shaking himself out of his stunned silence Trey got up and grabbed her hand. The smooth fabric of her glove was cold in his hand.

"Alex, something's wrong."

Her golden eyes narrowed in confusion. Her eyes were glazed and he could easily see exhaustion in them. He pulled her hand softly.

"You need to go home, okay? I'll drive you." He made her sit in his chair as he went to her desk and packed all her stuff, then he grabbed her hand again and led her out of the room. It was very strange to experience her so easy going. He never really touched her as she was a very standoffish person and she was never vulnerable. Now, however, she was so tired he had to buckle her seatbelt for her.

When he pulled up to the building her apartment was in Alex had already passed out, so it was up to him to get the house keys from her back, carry her up the stairs and into her bedroom. He avoided stepping on any of her things, which were thrown about, and blushingly averted his eyes from a black laced bra resting on her desk. He laid her down on her bed and covered her with a blanket he found thrown over her keyboard. Standing there, in complete silence, he realised there wasn't complete silence but that a soft ticking came from a bedroom next door to Alex's. Curious he walked into the small room and found a man sitting in front of a laptop writing away, as if nothing else in the world existed. Trey frowned and walked to stand before the desk, looking at the man. His hair had started to grey but it had definitely been black before, his skin was of a waxy colour and his eyes were bloodshot and had deep bags under them. The eyes were golden, like Alex's. This, he knew, was Alex's father, or what remained of him.

Trey cleared his throat. "Mr Bells?"

The man seemed startled and looked up at him with surprise etched him his face. "Yes?" His voice was hoarse and obviously never used.

"I'm Trey Jerry, I'm a friend of Alex's" He couldn't help but notice the look that crept onto the man's face at the mention of his daughter.

"What about her?" He asked gruffly. "Go away, I'm busy."

"She was very ill today, do you know what happened?" Trey insisted.

"No. Why should I care? Now leave, I'm busy." He turned back to the screen and kept writing, again absorbed by the apparatus.

Trey stood there for a second, shocked at the man's obvious indifference towards his daughter's health. He then walked to the kitchen and his eyes landed on a piece of paper stuck to the fridge. His eyes darkened as he read the neat handwriting resembling Alex's. A growl escaped his throat as he ripped open the fridge, which he found to be completely empty. Frowning in confusion he looked around the room until he saw a small pile of cards, he picked up a couple and realised they were all takeaway numbers. He sighed and left the apartment, heading for the supermarket around the corner.

* * *

Alex's eyes opened and she squinted slightly, trying to see through the dark. She could tell she was in her room but nothing more. She switched on the lamp that stood by her bed and looked around. Wincing at the sudden light she let her eyes travel around the room which, she noticed with a gasp, had been completely cleaned. All her clothes, including her bras, had been folded and laid in a neat pile on her dresser, all her notebooks had been placed in the empty shelves and all the wrappings of candy and takeaway boxes had been cleared out. She got down from her bed and walked into the living room, leaning onto the wall slightly, still feeling the effects of her musical weekend. That is, a weekend used only to compose music and nothing more. No eating, no sleeping, nothing. She had ordered food only for her father and not for herself. Why she had done it she wasn't sure.

A delicious scent filled her nose and made her stomach growl in protest. It had long given up in complaining when she didn't give it anything to eat in days. She stepped into the lit room and stood there, staring at the sight before her. Trey was cooking. Trey was standing in her kitchen with an apron on glaring at a recipe book laid open before him.

"Trey?"

His head snapped up and he looked at her. "Alex! No, get back to bed! I'll get you some food in a minute!"

"What are you-"

"No! Back to bed!" He said in a no-discussion-tone and shooed her off with a wooden spoon that smelled of pork. She raised her eyebrows but didn't argue, not if it meant she would get some homemade food for the first time in over 14 years. Her mother had stopped cooking for her when she managed to convince herself that Alex didn't deserve it.

She shuffled her way back into her room and pulled open the window, letting the cool evening air blow into her room. She climbed into bed and covered herself with a blanket, sitting up with her knees pulled to her chest and the blanker pulled to her nose. She closed her eyes, breathing in the cold air. A while passed until Trey walked in with a tray laden with food and drink for the both of them. She opened her eyes and watched him as he laid down the tray before her and climbed onto her bed to sit opposite of her. He smiled at her.

"Eat up!"

She grabbed her plate and ate with quick, hasty bites and closed her eyes as she chewed. The juice of the pork seeped into her mouth and she could clearly see that Trey had made it. It was good, it had a sweet taste to it but then had that deep, bitter undertone. How he managed to put his personality into cooking was beyond her.

"I hope it's good" She heard him say nervously "I never tried this recipe before."

She opened her eyes to look at him. He was watching her nervously. She smiled at him. "It's good." Trey's eyes lit and smiled at her as he started eating his own. She watched him for a second and her heart clenched strangely. She frowned in confusion for a second before going back to her meal.

* * *

"What's going on Alex?" Trey looked at her worriedly. He now sat next to her, under the blanket shielding himself from the cold, night air that entered through the window, which she had pointblank refused to lose.

Alex shrugged slightly. "My parents don't like me much."

He looked at her for a second. She wasn't looking at him, she was decidedly looking at anything that was not him.

"And why, may I ask?"

Now she looked at him. She searched his eyes and his face for something, which she apparently found because her shoulders relaxed and she took her hands from under the blanket. She slipped off her gloves, something which he had never seen her do, and laid her hands on her lap, palms up.

He saw small, thin cut on the tops of her fingers, as if done with a paper.

"They think I'm a freak. I disgust them. I scare them." The meaning of her words hit her like a ton of brinks and she struggled to not burst out crying. She had never told anyone, she had never had to say it aloud and, in a way, it was as if it weren't real. She had never cried because of them. She had cried because of wounds, she had cried after he last boyfriend beat her, never because of her parents. All of a sudden she felt… scared… no. She had always been scared. If her own parents hated her because of it, what would other do if they found out?

"Why?" She heard Trey whisper. She felt him put an arm around her shoulders. That was a great questions, she knew why, but she didn't. She knew the reason but not the reasoning.

As an answer she shook her head. "You'll hate me." She breathed. "I can't. It's your fault."

He looked hurt. "What's my fault?"

"Me caring. I never cared about what people would think but if you-" She took a deep breath. Her body was shaking again. "If you hated me-" She shook her head. "You're the only one I have and-"

"I won't hate you." He grabbed her face and turned it towards him. "Look at me." She opened her eyes. "I won't hate you, no matter what, you understand?"

"I- I'm not strong you know? I don't talk to people, not because I'm strong. Because I'm afraid. You were… harmless you know. I hated you but then… I didn't." She closed her eyes again and rested her head on his shoulder, aware of him now wrapping both his arms around her. "I'm weak. I'm afraid that others will hurt me so I… hurt them first. Make them stay away. I pretend I'm strong but… I'm tired of doing that."

"How long have you been alone?"

"My parents started distancing themselves from me when I was four." She breathed. "I met you three years ago. My father had just locked himself in his study."

Trey closed his eyes.

"I won't leave you alone. I promise. You're the only one I call a friend too. My parents love me but other than them… there's only you. Please Alex. I won't hurt you."

"He said that too you know. A week before he started hurting me."

"Who?"

"My ex"

Trey's eyes snapped open. His arms pulled her slightly closer and hugged her just slightly tighter. "I won't. No matter what. I swear Alex. Trust me."

"I'm afraid."

"I won't let anyone hurt you."

Alex didn't answer. She was still for a second before pulling away from him.

"What-?"

She put up her hands and his eyes widened as he realised that blood was pouring from the cuts. Blood. Ruby red liquid. More than should bleed from such small cuts. It didn't trail down her hand, no, it flowed upwards into the air and started spinning.

He looked at her, his eyes were wide with shock and he opened his mouth to say something until he caught sight of her eyes. Turned away from him, looking down at her lap, her face scrunched up in fear, a small tear threatening to fall from the corner of her eye. He reached up and wiped it away. He rested his forehead against hers and met her eyes, which had gone impossibly wide in surprise.

"It's amazing." Was the only thing he could say, and he meant it.


	3. Agent

**Thank you so much for everyone that reviewed! This really boosts my confidence! Please forgive me if the updates become a bit slow later on but exams are coming up so... Also, I'm not really sure I can write Tony well, please tell me what I could do to improve!**

* * *

"Yes, thank you mum. Sorry for bothering you." Alex put down the phone on the kitchen counter, closing her eyes tightly. The woman's voice had had that fake sugary tone she used when people were present to see how they treated each other. She had faked concern for her when she had told her she needed her to call the school to excuse her for the rest of the week. As if she cared.

"Alex, I have to go home now but I'll be back tomorrow after school." Trey smiled at her from the couch as he got up to leave.

"Won't your parents think you're spending too much time with me?" She asked, looking at him blankly.

He shook his head. "I told them you weren't feeling well and that your parents were away for the week. They know I'll want to help you."

Alex sighed and walked to a cupboard. Swinging the door open she stuck her hand in a little jar and took out a small key. She threw it at him. "Here. In case I'm out. It was my dad's."

Trey caught it and stared at her. "Right. Thanks." He whispered, stunned. Shaking himself out of his stupor he opened the door and left, locking it behind him to test the key.

Alex numbly hit her head on the wall, not really knowing why, oh why, she had given him free access to her house.

* * *

"Jarvis, do I have anything planned for today?"

"You have a meeting with the board of directors today, miss Potts, as the CEO, would also be present."

"Cancel it."

"But sir-"

"Cancel it. I have just found something more entertaining." He turned the wheel and drove into another street, closing in on the sidewalk and lowering the window. "Alex! Fancy seeing you here!"

Said girl turned to look at him with a sour expression on her face. "Stark. Are you stalking me?"

"Not at all. Funny how fate brings friends together, isn't it?"

She turned away from him and kept on walking with her eyebrows twitching at the people staring.

"Hey-"

"Stop following me Stark, I don't want the press paying any attention to what I do, got it?" She bit out, glaring at him from the corner of her eyes. "And you're holding the traffic."

Tony looked in the rearview mirror, smirking slightly at the other cars honking impatiently. "Get in!" He called at her.

"Forget about it." She turned into an alley, swinging the plastic bag in her hands over her shoulder.

Tony scowled for a second before taking a sharp turn left and parking in a small space. He was just popping some coins in the time meter when he noticed a group of men running into the alley Alex had escaped him through. He followed, not worried since Trey had said she often got into fights, but curious. Keeping his head lowered so people wouldn't recognise him he hurried after her into the damp alley.

By the time he had caught up most of the men were already knocked out, all except one. She was holding him by the throat with her arm completely stretched. It was covered in a long red glove which he was certain she hadn't been wearing before. The man started bubbling at the mouth and suddenly stopped thrashing around. With a disgusted sound she dropped him and the red glove disappeared.

"That's a nice trick you have there."

Startled she turned around. Her eyes were wide as she took a few steps backwards, one her hands grabbed the fallen bag from the ground.

"You could get arrested for this you know? But I won't say anything, I don't want one of my friends in jail."

"What did you see?"

"Oh, nothing. Beat up guys, choking one, strange, not too stylish red glove disappearing…" He turned his eyes from his nails back to her only to find her too close for comfort. Her raised fist made contact with his face and his world turned black.

* * *

"Oh, you're back!"

"Trey it's been three days, I'm fine. How long are you going to keep cooking us dinner?"

"I'm not letting you eat any more takeaway! You've had enough in the last 14 years. What do you think of the sauce?" He lifted a spoon and blowed on it, offering it to her afterwards.

Rolling her eyes she tasted it. "It's good."

"You always say it's good."

"It always is. I'm not used to this kind of food. I normally eat chai."

Trey shook his head in exasperation. "Could you set the table?" At her nod he continued: "So what did you get?"

"I had to get some more notebooks, I ran out. Are you planning on cooking for me until graduation?"

"Of course not! We'll eat out sometimes."

Alex groaned. "Trey what- what is this? What are we? Why are you acting like my wife?"

Trey didn't look at her and kept on stirring the soup. "I don't know. I just don't want to leave you alone. Is the table done?"

Slightly shaken by the sudden change in topic she nodded. He smiled and set the food on the table, handing her the third plate, which she laid by her dad without saying a word, lest she burst out crying again. She then sat down in front of Trey and started eating, for once not wearing gloves.

"I punched Tony Stark on my way home today."

Trey choked. Frowning she clapped him on the back with a blood-hand.

"You did WHAT?"

"I got into a fight and he saw me using my blood, hopefully he'll think he just drank too much when he wakes up."

"Wakes up! You punched my father's boss! You knocked him out!"

"It's not my fault he's too fucking nosy. I had to."

Trey groaned and rested his head on the table

"Not okay?"

"No, not okay Alex."

"Sorry."

"Finish your dinner and we'll go pick him up."

"What?"

He looked at her with raised eyebrows and she shut up. She didn't want to argue with him. He was too good to her for that. She silently emptied her plate and put everything in the sink. Without saying anything she followed him out the door and led him to the alley.

The sun was barely setting and it was still easy to see. Trey found him hidden between the trashcans without much hassle and, thankfully, he hadn't been robbed or kidnapped. A least she hadn't left him in plain sight. He searched his pockets and found his car keys.

"Here, hold on to these." He then swung the shorter, older man over his shoulders. "Click the lock."

The car's lights turned on for a second and they walked to it. After dumping Tony in the backseat he sat behind the wheel and drove home.

"Don't ever do this again Alex. We'll get in lots of trouble."

She nodded. He found it incredible how she could be a badass fighter one second and then be told off like a child the next. He then proceeded to dump the man on her couch and slap his face until he woke up.

"Ugh, where am I?"

"In Alex's house."

"Ah, so that was all to get me to visit. You didn't have to, I would have graced you with my presence any day. You just had to ask."

Trey winced as he heard Alex slam the door to her room.

"Alex doesn't really want you here mr Stark."

"Tony. And why wouldn't she want me here?"

"Well… She's not really a people person. She just retreated into her room…"

"Then why did she knock me out?"

Trey couldn't answer. Tell the truth? No, Alex wouldn't want that. Lie to him? His dad could get fired. "Ah, that well…"

Tony got up and walked down the hall. A second later Trey followed nervously, until Tony reached the door to Alex's room.

"Tony don't-"

Tony opened the door, only to be greeted by a shirtless Alex throwing clothes around her room looking for something to wear. Her tight jeans hung low on her hips and her hair hung loose over her shoulders. Her head snapped up and her pale face burned red as she yelled and covered her breasts with her arms.

Trey hastily closed the door and pulled Tony back to the kitchen, still blushing a deep red.

"Well that was interesting."

Trey opened his mouth to say something but closed it again without any sound having come out. He winced as a door swung open and then shut again with a very loud bang. Alex strode into the room and grabbed one of the mugs from the cupboard, she raised her arm to throw it at Tony.

"No! Alex, no!" Trey launched himself at her and held her arms from behind. "No… Ah Tony just wanted to ask something… so-"

"And what was so important that you had to burst into my room without knocking, Stark?"

Tony acted as if he wasn't about to be attacked for the second time in a day, by the same girl no less. "Why did you knock me out?"

"Because you fucking get on my nerves."

"No, I don't. Or that wasn't it at least." He amended at both the teen's incredulous looks.

"Alex," Trey whispered. "Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to tell him."

She turned to look at him, her eyes narrowing. "He'll tell people."

"Maybe he won't. I don't think he will." He whispered into her ear, his eyes never leaving the man who was now opening random cupboards and looking inside. "Not if we ask him not to."

Alex relaxed her body but didn't move to make him let go of her, which he didn't. She fell backwards, resting against his chest as she thought.

"Do you think I should?"

"I don't think anything bad will happen."

"Sure?" She looked at him, she bit her lip nervously.

He smiled. "Yeah."

She sighed. "Fine but… you tell him. I can't. I'll show him after your done. Don't tell him about my parents."

Trey loosened his grip on her and just ran his hand up and down her arms soothingly. "Sure, okay. Don't leave the room though."

She nodded.

* * *

"Where have you been?" Pepper's reprimanding voice cut through Tony's thought process like a knife. She was glaring at him with an air of tiredness around her which reminded him of the old days when she would greet him like this everyday.

"We waited two hours for you to start the meeting! You even missed dinner, what have you been doing?"

"I found myself in the company of Trey and Alex and felt reluctant to leave, especially when he started cooking." He licked his lips, hoping that there would be some remaining sauce from dinner, but… alas. Nothing remained. "They invited me for dinner and I couldn't refuse."

"You could have told them you had a meeting."

"And break their hearts with disappointment? No."

"I doubt you would have broken their hearts."

"Of course I would have, don't be ridiculous." He walked to the bar and poured himself a drink. To be honest he still felt overwhelmed about what he had found out, and seeing an eighteen year old girl use her own blood as a lasso hadn't actually been on his list of 'things I want to achieve in my life', however… he could understand her reluctance in telling him. He rubbed the side of his face. She packed a mean punch though.

"I'm going to DC tomorrow-"

"What? Why?"

"We decided-"

"Without consulting me."

"We didn't need to consult you since you weren't there."

"Who's we?"

"The board and I. Anyway. I'm going to go to DC for a meeting, you can stay here and work on your things." She walked down the hall.

"Where are you going?"

"To bed."

* * *

Tony looked up at the sound of the doorbell, his face split into a grin and he put down his glass of whiskey. His long strides he walked to the lift and waited patiently for his guests to arrive. The whole living area had been lit up and it shone like a torch over the city.

The doors slid open to reveal Alex and Trey. Alex was wearing black leather pants and a loose fitting, long sleeved red shirt and high heeled leather ankle boots. Her hair was loose and the gold of her eyes stood out because of all the dark eye liner. This, he noticed, was her casual attire. She always wore heels and dark eye make up of some sort. Trey, on the other hand, was more casual, only wearing light blue jeans and a dark blue hoodie, opened to reveal a grey shirt.

He had been getting together with them more often since the day he found out the secret, especially since Pepper wasn't here and he didn't have to constantly make up excuses. It was now a week ago and Pepper was being held up in DC.

Trey greeted him warmly while she only nodded at him when they stepped out of the lift. It took a bit more for her to actually like him than for Trey. He was a more friendly guy. That didn't mean that she disliked him, not anymore at least, she had accepted him as a common member of their group now and had gotten used to him coming over for dinner. She even talked to him willingly and called him by his first name now… sometimes.

"Why good evening. Welcome to my not so humble abode." He did a mock bow and led them to the couches, on which they let themselves fall and Trey started talking about his usual topics. Which happened to be _everything_. And Alexandra just sat next to him and watched Tony. Not that Tony had a problem with it, he was made to be looked at.

After a few hours they had all relaxed some and Alex had even opted to take off her gloves and lean back on the couch, though Trey had gotten in the way and now she was leaning on him. She just looked out the window and commented something every once in a while, or answered questions when asked.

Tony raised his glass to his lips again and noticed he'd run out of whiskey, again. But the bottle was in the kitchen and he didn't want to get up. He could see it from where he sat. With a humph he left himself rest back and glared at the bottle. Trey chuckled and Alexandra merely rolled her eyes at his antics. She raised a hand and blood flowed out, stretching itself all the was to the bottle. With a slight twitch of her wrist it entwined itself around the glass form and lifted red ribbon then curled back around and laid the bottle down on Tony's lap. With a hiss of pain Alexandra pulled back the blood into her body and flexed her hand.

At the men's raised eyebrows she said: "Pulling a not so small amount of blood back into the system stings a bit."

"Does it? Director Fury will be very interested."

Quick as lightning all three head turned towards the voice. It was a small man in a suit, holding a briefcase that stood in the opened doors of the lift.

"Agent Coulson." Tony's voice sounded offended, almost upset. "What are you doing here?"

"Who are you?" Alex spit out venomously, so venomously Trey wrapped an arm around her waist to restrain her.

"Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. Miss…?"

"Ah, so you found a new name!" Tony's complacent smile didn't reach his eyes. "Now get out."

"Don't bother." Alex stood up, sliding her gloves on as she did. "We're leaving. See you around, Tony." She grabbed Trey's shoulder and forcefully dragged him to the lift, pushing Agent Coulson aside to get in.


	4. Fury

**Hey guys, sorry this is shorter than usual. Also, I'm going to have an exchange program with school soon so I'll be gone for a few weeks. I'll post the next chapter as soon as I can. I swear.**

* * *

Trey tapped his fingers on the steering wheel of his car, sneaking quick glances at the girl sitting beside him. Alex had become very pale in the last fifteen minutes and was practically shaking in her seat. Her ungloved hands constantly strangled each other and her teeth bit her lip furiously while her eyes snapped from one place to the other.

"Alex."

She turned to face him, her face still holding the look of shock it'd taken since they stepped in the car.

"Maybe you shouldn't spend the night at your place."

She raised an eyebrow.

"I can't spend the night at your place tonight because my parents said I've been doing that too much, but if I leave you alone you'll spend a sleepless night again. Which we both agreed on you wouldn't do anymore." He explained in a patient tone, although how he achieved that was a mystery even to himself as he felt just as shaken as she did.

"What do you propose?"

"I propose you spend the night at my place."

Alex was silent for a moment before nodding. "Mom'll be home tomorrow so she can give dad breakfast. Alright."

Trey nodded and changed course, going to his house, which was actually pretty big with his father being on the board of directors of SI and all.

"My parents went out to dinner tonight so they won't be home yet."

Out of the corner of his eyes he could tell she nodded.

* * *

Trey opened the front door and led her inside. The house was nice, with a homely feeling to it her house had never had. Or she didn't remember it. She followed him as he walked up the stairs and down a hallway, the walls were filled with framed pictures of him as a kid with his parents, a stray pet every now and then, until they reached a door at the end. He opened it to reveal a room, in shades of blue, with a double bed and another door leading to his bathroom. He switched on the lights and rummaged through a chest of drawers, pulling out a grey shirt. Smiling he handed it to her.

"You can change in the toilet." He then turned and kept rummaging to find himself some sweatpants.

Alex didn't say anything and walked slowly to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. She slipped off her clothes and put on the shirt, sniffing it slightly as she did so. It smelt slightly of the spices he used for cooking. Smiling softly she looked up at her reflection in the mirror. She was deathly pale, as a result of her nerves, and her arms had small red patches where she had dug her nails to keep calm. She let out a soft sight and exited the bathroom, walking to the bed in a daze and climbing in between the sheets. Her eyes travelled to the side where Trey lay, staring at the ceiling. He hadn't even noticed she had gotten in the bed. She turned to her side and poked him.

Blinking himself out of his stupor he turned to look at her, only to blush at the realisation that she wasn't wearing pants. But the anxious look in her eyes was enough to make him forget about that. Momentarily.

"What do you think's going to happen?" She whispered, even if she knew they were the only ones home. In a way, it made her sound even more frightened.

"I don't know. But I'm sure Tony won't let that Agent hurt you."

"Sure?"

"Positive."

Surprisingly, he saw her relax. Her eyes became less wide and her shoulders were less tightly strung.

"Why do you trust me so much?" He found himself asking.

She didn't answer for a while. Honestly, she didn't know either. So she told him. "I don't really know. You calm me down. You make me feel like… nothing could go wrong… if you say it won't at least."

Trey shook his head in disbelief. His eyes stayed fixed on her face while her question from some time ago rung in his ears. _What are we?_ He truthfully didn't know. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know. Naming it would make it real, and if it was real, it could end. He scootched closer to her and rested his lips on her forehead for a second, before pulling back in shock at what he has just done. Even he was surprised at himself. He hadn't planned this. He looked away from her, trying to seem casual. To his surprise he felt her come closer.

She rested her head under his chin, laying close to him. Normally her body was cold, so very cold, but his body heat warmed her up too. She let her eyes flutter closed as she rested her face against his neck. She had felt his body tense up when she moved but now he wrapped his arms loosely around her waist. It surprised him to feel it was so small, normally with all the strength she held herself, it seemed like she was really muscled, which she wasn't. In fact, she was rather thin.

"Your parents will have a heart attack." Her breath was warm and her lips tickled his skin when they moved.

"Huh?"

"They'll see me in the morning. They'll see me come out of your room dressed in only my panties and a shirt of yours."

Trey winced but held her slightly tighter. "It'll be fine, I'll explain everything."

Alex let out a slow breath, making a shiver run down his spine. "If you say so."

* * *

Trey's eyes opened at a sudden sound. Without looking around to see what it was he focussed on his immediate surroundings first. He found Alex still curled up against his chest and her bare - he blushed at the realisation- legs entwined with his own. Remembering the sound he looked around only to find his mother's shocked face from the doorway. Wincing internally at the trouble he was in he removed his hands from around Alex's waist and held them up in a placating gesture.

"It's honestly not what you think mom." Was the only thing he managed to get out before she turned around and slammed the door behind her, waking the -admittedly good looking- girl lying next to him. She looked up at him, squinting in discomfort at the sunlight shining through the window.

"What was that?" She groaned.

"My mom."

She snorted. "You're in some deep shit right now, Trey."

He scowled at his hands, which were entwined on his lap. "I'll fix it, you get dressed." He swung his legs off the bed and strode to the kitchen with long steps, growing more nervous with every step he took. Reaching the kitchen he cursed inwardly when he realised both his parents were sitting at the breakfast table with expectant looks.

He sighed and took a seat. "It's not what it looks like, I swear." He took a deep breath before continuing. "Uhm. Well… Alex was upset… and I didn't want to leave her alone." At his parents' questioning gazes he continued. "We didn't have sex. Honest."

Silence filled the room as neither Christoff nor Leah responded. Trey didn't push the subject and busied himself with pouring coffee in two mugs and preparing some toast with jam him Alex and himself. Just in time too as they heard the soft tapping of Alex's high heels and she walked in from around the corner. She nodded awkwardly at the two adults and took a seat next to Trey, sipping her coffee.

Her eyes travelled up and met the man and woman's looks. Awkward, concerned, angry, shocked and… amused. In Christoff's case at least. And suddenly it clicked.

"You wouldn't happen to be a virgin, would you Trey?"

At this all three other people at the table choked on whatever they were eating.

"Alex!"

"I'll take that as a yes." She then turned to Trey's parents and said, in the straightest face she could muster. "Do not worry, I have not defiled your precious baby boy." Then, taking a last sip of her coffee, she stood up. "I'm gonna go home now, Trey. Thanks for helping out last night."

Recovering slightly from his previous embarrassment, though still blushing bright red, he answered. "Yeah, I'll come pick you up in a while."

She smirked and left. God, she had to stop channeling Stark.

* * *

As soon as Alex stepped through the door to her house she froze. There were her parents, both of them, sitting on the couch, facing a tall black man with an eyepatch. The only thing she could think about was how much trouble she would be in with her mom.

As she expected, her mother stood up, looking furious at her. Alex really resembled her, only her mother was more… wrinkled.

"Where have you been?"

"Out."

"Where?"

"Why do you care?" Alex retorted, with slightly more venom than she would normally. Trey had made her realise that she actually did have a reason to hate her parents, unlike she used to believe.

For a second Lilian said nothing, before she continued.

"I don't, but if I tell you to feed your father," she stepped closer until she was in Alex's face "you feed your father!" She finished by slapping her daughter so hard her face snapped to the left, getting her slightly off balance.

"Now, now, mrs Bells. If you'll just give me some privacy with your daughter now." The man stood up and moved his hand slightly towards the door. Lilian stared at it for a second before grabbing Thomas by arm and leaving without a backwards glance at her daughter. No sign of worry for leaving her with a strange man, who had enough size difference to make her look fragile.

As soon as her parents were gone Alex's eyes snapped to the man, who still stood there with his hands behind his back. Keeping her eyes on him she dug in a drawer for a cigarette and a lighter, stepping to the window and lighting it. Out the corner of her eye she could see her reflection in a mirror. Her right cheek was flaming red.

"What do you want?"

"My name is Nick Fury, I am the director of the **S**trategic **H**azard **I**ntervention, **E**spionage and **L**ogistics **D**irectorate, also know as S.H.I.E.L.D."

Her eyes narrowed. "You're with that agent from last night."

"No, miss Bells, that agent it with me. Now sit down so I can explain to you what I want." His tone changed from patient to sassy in a matter of seconds. She just scowled at him and sat down on a couch, keeping her cigarette between her lips.

"You're aware of Thor, are you not?"

"The norse god?"

"The real norse god that came here not too long ago."

"What of him?"

"His brother, Loki, has taken control of a cube of energy, powerful enough to provide clean electricity for the whole world. We need it back. He has taken Dr. Eric Selvig in custody with a sort of mind control technique, also of one of my agents. There is a group called the Avengers Initiative, Iron Man is part of it. I would like to check if you are capable of joining."

Alex looked at him incredulously for a second before raising her hand and putting up her middle finger.

"You didn't really think I'd show you, right? Let alone join you. Fuck off."

Fury stood up in anger but quickly calmed down and took a phone out of his pocket. He dialled a number and waited for a second before flipping it over and showing her the screen.

"Do you recognise this person?"

Alex's eyes widened as Trey appeared on the screen. He was driving his car and he could be seen from the side. Who ever was filming him was driving in a car beside him. She nodded.

"If you don't cooperate I'll make sure he gets moved to another continent."

Alex glared at him before taking off her gloves and showing him her abilities. The whole time she did not take her eyes off him, filled with a hatred she hadn't felt for anybody yet. Not even her parents. As she closed the door behind him she nodded when he told her he would be sending and agent to pick her up the next day.

Nick honestly hadn't known what to expect when he went to Alexandra Bells' house after Phil had told him he had seen a girl move her blood outside her body. He certainly had not been expecting a skinny ass teenage girl with a smoking habit, neglective parents and personality issues. He could still feel the slight sting of her hatred, even if he had completely disregarded it at the time. He got in his car and drove off. He would see the girl soon anyway.


	5. Hill

Alex slid along the door down to the floor. She sat there for a while, merely staring at her hands in shock, not even bothering to stand up. Then she heard footsteps coming towards the door, two pairs. Her parents. Scowling she forced herself up and ran to her room, where she proceeded to change into wide baggy jeans, flat sneakers and a wide hoodie, which she pulled over her loose hair and earphones plugged into her cellphone. She grabbed her wallet, stuffed it in her pocket and strode out the apartment, shoving her way past her parents, too distraught to even worry about upsetting them. She walked to the Brooklyn bridge, a route that took her quite a while, listening to music the whole way. Down the road she vaguely noticed that she hadn't been composing anything lately, but she shrugged it off, having more important things to think about. She sat on the ground of the small shore under the bridge, passing fences and garbage and hobos. It was a place she had found years ago, when she was eight, and which she hadn't visited since starting high school. It was damp and dreary and there was always a chilly breeze that kept you cold, no matter how warm the sun was because it's light didn't reach you directly. She would go there when she needed to think. When something was truly bothering her. It was an isolated place where she was sure nobody could find her. Not that anyone would have looked for her at the time. It was different now. now she had Trey, he had been calling her for about an hour now, she diverted his calls. It was about him she wanted to think.

How stupid. How can humans endure having such an obvious weakness? Even the physically undefeatable have emotional weaknesses. Love. If she loved Trey he would be her weakness, would he not? Did she love trey? She honestly didn't know. The last man she was with hadn't loved her and she hadn't loved him. It would even be accurate to say she had never experienced the emotion love, for anyone of anything. Oh, she had experienced passion, lust, and maybe even a little tenderness, but never love. How did it feel like? She couldn't express it. It was happiness and nerves and ecstasy and everything at once. The one thing she could truly explain was the fear, the utter terror that had overwhelmed her at the thought of him leaving. Not only being alone again, but not having him as a support and as a reason to actually get out of bed in the morning. It was strange how a month ago she wouldn't even have dreamed of confiding anything to anyone, let alone falling in love. though wasn't it the fact that she confided him an eye opener towards how much she could depend on him? How much she could trust him, how much he cared? Was she in love with him or simply with a person that cared? Was she in love at all?

Alex growled frustratedly and flung a pebble into the water, watching it sink in silence. She let herself fall to the ground and sat, looking out of blank eyes, watching the slight mist around the far off pillars of the bridge. Wether she was in love or not was irrelevant. Maybe not completely irrelevant but not the whole point of the painful brainstorm. The conclusion was that Trey was, in some way, important enough for her to obey a man in an eyepatch and join a group of "special people" to save and/or avenge the world from a norse god. If you put it like that it sounded more than slightly ridiculous. But it was every bit true, even Stark believed it and when Stark is actually serious about something it would be wise to listen to him.

Slowly the slight mount of cigarette buts at her feet grew, along with the descending of the sun. She didn't think anymore. Her conclusion was that if she cared so much about Trey that she would agree to go on a dangerous yet stupid mission then there was definitely something going on. She was not going to try to figure it out now. She was upset enough as she was. As she was about to light a new cigarette, throwing the old one to the ground in disgust, she noticed there were only two left in the small package. If she was going to go where ever she was going she needed to stock up. The sun was setting as she walked through the slightly damp, darkening streets to one of the small parks, stopping at a small shop and buying five packets of the cylinder formed poison. She coughed in slight discomfort, wincing slightly at the rasping feeling in her throat. She smoked, yes, but never so much in one go and, with the tiny change in her social circle, she had been cutting down.

She sat down on a bench in a secluded corner of the patch of grass with a pond. The place was filled with rubbish and the walls were covered in graffiti. Around her there were small groups of teenagers and slightly older people talking in loud voices that resonated through her head. The traffic was loud and dark fumes erupted that could be smelled even from a few streets away from the main roads made her stomach churn with nausea, making her even more aware of the fact that she had only had breakfast the whole day. She lit another cigarette and held it loosely between her lips, ignoring the burning feeling down her throat and the jeers of the men around her. She let her head fall backwards and stared at the sky, not caring about her hood falling off her head and exposing her black locks and pale skin that was tainted slightly green on the cheek her dear old mum had hit her on.

"Hey."

Scowling she turned to the voice next to her. It was a young man, with tanned skin and brown hair. His hair hung on his shoulders and he was only wearing a light sleeveless shirt, which obviously did nothing to protect him from the cold night air from which she herself was barely shielded from by her warm hoodie.

"What?" She bit out.

The man wasn't deterred, he smirked.

"Can I have one?" He pointed at her cigarette.

Shrugging she took out the last in her box and handed it to him, holding out the lighter for him to use. Without a word of thanks he grabbed both offered objects and brought them to his lips, handing back the lighter when he finished. He then turned away and sat looking at the sky beside her. It was cloudy and it offered possibilities of rain. Sure enough she winced as a thick drop of water landed in her eye, making her frown. She heard a snigger beside her and turned to the man.

"You sure scowl often."

She didn't reply.

"Although with a bruise like that you seem to be having a bad day as it is."

"You could say that. you could also say bad life." She answered in a bored tone.

"Aw, why's that? I really can't imagine anyone hitting a beauty like you." He moved closer, stretching out a hand to touch her leg.

"Do that and I'll remove your hands." She muttered.

She was sure he heard her but chose to ignore it as he both moved even closer and laid his hand on her thighs. She was actually glad she had chosen not to wear gloves, even if she wasn't used to feeling the cold on her hands it beat having to stop to take the gloves off. In the blink of an eye a long ribbon of blood grabbed him by the throat and shoved into the wall, hearing a slight crack of his shoulder blades breaking on impact. He almost screamed but she also covered his mouth with an actual hand, leaning into him with her mouth less than an inch away from his ear.

"I warned you." she whispered "If you had noticed I was in a bad mood, why did you insist on putting your filthy hands on me? I told you I would remove your hands, didn't I?"

Smirking slightly at the man's trembling she raised the hand that was not streaming blood, it had been holding his mouth but a slight twitch of her fingers and blood covered that too. Blood flowed up from the tips of her fingers moulding itself into a small blade, hardening and yet remaining fluid, something only blood could do. She forced his arms up and leaned the 'blade' on his wrist, putting a bit of pressure on it and cutting through the skin. The man, who's name she still hadn't found out, opened his eyes wide and, after a few more pushes from her fingers, passed out. She then promptly dropped him, turning around, holding on to the bench to balance herself as she pulled all the blood back in her body. It was painful and her body felt the weariness it got after using so much blood. It was the closest she had gotten to anaemia yet. She gasped in pain as she pulled in the last drops of ruby liquid and straightened herself, walking away like nothing had happened, lighting another cigarette and ignoring the way the remaining people stepped out her way. She pulled up her hood and stepped into a dark alley, deepening herself into the night like she hadn't had a reason to in a long time. But now… just in case she didn't come back from… S.H.I.E.L.D.

* * *

"I haven't seen you in a long time... Alex."

The woman sat in a large chair. Her long hair was ash grey and her skin was pasty and sickly. Light blue, faded eyes studied her from under long eyelashes. Her skin hung loosely on her bones and one hand was holding up a long pipe that let out a thick cloud of fumes that hung around her like mist. The room was dark, lit only with a single lamp, and large. Large enough to hold many reclinable chairs padded with cushions on which people lay, blindfolded, breathing in the fumes from the burning liquids. It burned Alex's eyes, but, unlike the clients, she was used to the substances which would cause others heavy hallucinations. She had practically lived here a year or two ago, it only opened at night so she would get out of the house at sunset and come back at sunrise. It had been cheaper for her, she had helped Clara spread her products to clients that couldn't come to pick them up. The flowers normal people grew held more harmful substances than the government knew, as long as you knew where to look.

Alex nodded respectfully at Clara, letting her eyes roam around the empty space behind the woman, who had aged far beyond her years.

"How have you been?"

"Bad, better, bad again."

An eyebrow was raised.

"I need a favour."

"Oh?" Clara walked forwards, keeping her arms aloft to remain in balance. She pressed her forehead to Alex's and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling their bodies together. Her foul breath invaded the young girl's nostrils as she continued speaking. "And what would that favour be?"

"I need you to have someone watched."

"Friendly or not?"

"Friendly, very much so."

"Ah."

Clara turned around and twirled her way between the hallucinating adults, curling her fingers around alex's wrist and pulling her along. The black haired girl let herself be dragged, still numb at being back in the place she had been almost raped in various times. Here she had met Joshua, he had treated her badly.

Closing her eyes she pushed the memories out of her mind. Clara had, at the time, taken a liking to her. When she found out about his unpleasant behaviour she had had Joshua drowned. Alex had never been bothered again, but as an impressionable 16 year old she had not come back, not that Clara noticed. To her it would seem as a week, a month maybe. Not two years. She had become so used to hallucinating that sometimes she couldn't even tell them apart from each other. She didn't notice the way time passed, she lived in her own little world and came out of it when she pleased.

They entered a room filled with Carla's associates, they were merely there, doing nothing in particular since the ones that had been using the odours for longer could not hallucinate with the common ones anymore, just like her. They had to wait for all the clients to leave to be able to take out the proper merchandise.

"I take it you all remember little Alex?" The woman was still holding her and she had no choice but to look back up at them, meeting the eyes of the older people she used to be around so much. They had aged uncontrollably, indeed she couldn't even recognise various of them, the ones that weren't new that is.

She nodded and raised a hand in greeting.

"Alex needs someone watched, don't you Alex?"

She nodded.

"Who is it?" The rasping voice of an old man appeared behind her.

Alex didn't jump, she was expecting Leo to talk to her. The people she knew here were just people you could cross on the street, you would think that their skin colour isn't completely healthy but they wouldn't be suspicious. The ones that came here were normal, they acted normal at least. But they weren't completely present, each one of them had their own reasons and no one pried. Leo was a kind old man, though he could be pretty ruthless when he wanted to be. He drowned Joshua.

"He's a friend. I have to leave town for a while, I don't know how long, and I'm afraid someone will hurt him." She said, looking only at Clara. Even if the others wanted to help, it was Clara that decided, and all of them knew that.

"Oh?" The buggy eyes closed as Clara twirled. "And what would I gain from you? Payment?"

"How much do you want?"

"How watched do you want him?"

Alex hesitated. "Not a single scratch on him. If I get back and it's not to my liking I won't pay you." She knew she was talking of Trey as if he were a product but, sadly, it was they only way Clara knew how to talk of anything.

Clara smiled a large grin with rotten teeth and cracked lips, pressing herself against the girl. Her mouth glued itself to Alex's ear and she heard the woman whisper: "We accept."

* * *

Trey threw his phone across the room in frustration. He had called again and again but Alex simply refused to answer her phone. He bagan to pase around his room. It was already dark outside, it was late, his parents were asleep and he hadn't been able to reach Alex a single time. He'd even gone to the small park they went to sometimes to see if she was there. Nothing.

Had he done something wrong? Had he offended her? Had his parents hurt her feelings? Was she in trouble? Had her mother done something? He let out and anxious yelp and ran his hands through his hair nervously. Oh man, oh man. What could he do? Go to her? …No, too late. Tomorrow? …It would have to do.

His breath was harsh as he looked around his room, searching for a way to entertain himself in the meantime. His eyes landed on the bed. He was tired, exhausted even… but she had slept in that bed. Not that there was anything wrong with that but… it felt wrong to sleep in there again… without her… not even knowing if she was alive… He turned his head to the large armchair on the other side of the room. It shouldn't be too uncomfortable.

He took off his shirt and pants, digging through the pile of used clothes on the floor to find some pyjama pants. He stood still for a moment before putting them on, shivering in the cold. The window was open. Alex had opened it in the morning, he never closed it. He'd gotten used to the cold, she liked it. Maybe it was just that she wasn't used to the warmth. His head turned to the mirror and he studied himself in silence for a few seconds. His skin had a slight golden tint that remained from the holidays, his hair was a dark golden color, darker than Alex's eyes, and was cut in shaggy locks that fell on his face, covering his eyes slightly, which were a dark green. He looked a lot like his father, in colors at least, his facial structure was more like his mother, less rounded, more sculpted… sort of. His body was in shape, but not overly so. He wasn't one to do sports just to keep in physical shape, he was aware that he looked good but he wasn't vain. He used to do sports because he enjoyed it, now people sucked up to him and it wasn't fun anymore. It made him so angry at times. It was very hard to get him angry, he was always calm, always forgiving. Except with Alex. If anyone hurt her… he was certain he would snap. Normally he wouldn't hurt a fly but if push came to shove…

He sighed dejectedly and pulled on the pants harshly, dragging a blacket off the bad and draping it around himself before turning off the lights and letting himself fall in the armchair, sinking into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

Agent Maria Hill stepped out of the car and looked up at the building before her. It was tall, for Brooklyn, and wasn't stained with car fumes so you could still see the cream colored paint. Some plants decorated the small path to the door and a metal plaque showed the names of the tanants of all seven floors. Hill took off her sunglasses and stode to one of the buttons, pressing the one labeled 'Bells'. She waited until she heard a light click at the other side, signalling that someone was listening.

"This is Agent Hill from S.H.I.E.L.D., I am here to pick up Alexandra Bells. Is she present?"

A few moments passed before a low voice answered: "I'll be right down."

Hill nodded and walked back to the car, leaning against the hood to wait for her charge. It wasn't that early, but as it was sunday most people tended to stay inside. The woman looked up as she heard the door open and slam shut, raising an eyebrow at the girl walking towards her.

She had a sour look on her face, obviously displeased at being forced to cooperate. She was tall, thin and very pale. Her hair was cut messily and fell across her shoulderblades and forehead like a black curtain slightly blocking her eyes, which were golden and surroounded by heavy black eyeliner. She didn't wear any other make up, except for the red lipstick that eerily reminded the Agent of blood. This, added to her clothing, black leather booty shorts, high heeled ankle boots, gloves and a red body warmer, intriegued Hill. The only special thing about her seemed to be her attitude issues, which weren't that uncommon at her age.

The girl strode to the back door, threw a bag inside and wordlessly took her spot as shotgun. Hill didn't comment and walked to her side of the car. She paused before getting in, leaning her hands on the door as her eyes fixed themselves on a figure running towards them. It was a blonde boy. SUddenly she felt a hand on her wrist, pulling her inside the car.

"Get in." The girl's raspy voice sounded rushed.

"Alex! Wait!" Hill turned back to the boy, who was waving his arms over his head, just before Bells pulled her in by force.

"Go." The girl was looking at the boy with a panicked look on her face. "Go!"

Without question Agent Hill sped off, ignoring the boy's pained cries and the single tear rolling down the girl's cheek.


	6. Banner

**Hi everyone! I am so so sorry! As sorry as Snape when he called Lily a mudblood! Honest! I didn't have time write anything and when I did... writer's block! I know where I want the story to go but if any of you has something that would be a good idea, don't hesitate to say so :)**

* * *

Alex stomped out of the helicopter and walked away from Agent Hill. Dropping her backpack, she rummaged through her pockets until she found her cigarettes and lit one, looking around as she inhaled. They were on a large platform, a Helicarrier, in the middle of the ocean, there were helicopters, jets and other flying machines she had never even heard of. Close to the edge of the platform there was a small group of people, one of which she recognised as Agent Coulson. There was also a large blonde man and a red-haired woman.

"Bells."

Alex turned to Agent Hill. The woman looked positively bored to have to deal with her for so long. Not that Alex gave two shits.

"Director Fury wants to talk to you on the bridge immediately." Maria Hill pointed at the door.

Alex followed the older woman without uttering a word until they got to a large space overlooking all sorts of computers. She sat in one of the chairs around the table and waited for the eyepatch wearing man to come to her.

"You have to put that out." Hill said, offering her an ashtray.

"Fuck off."

Hill rolled her eyes and walked to her post, sitting down and tapping some things into the computer, further ignoring the teenage girl's existence. The large man and the red-haired woman walked into the room also, accompanied by a shorter male. Their conversation stopped as soon as they saw her and the woman was about to speak when the Director arrived.

"Captain, Doctor, Agent Romanov. Sit down, we'll talk in a minute." He then turned to the girl, who was too aware of the adults staring holes in her head. "I'm surprised you showed up Bells."

"Didn't give me much of a choice did you?" She blew smoke in his face keeping her calm facade on like a pro. "Don't know what good it'll do you though."

"Put that cigarette out."

"Bite me."

"Agent Hill, locate mr Jerry-"

"Fine!" She put her cigarette out in the ashtray and glared up at him. "Now what, oh mighty cyclops lord?"

"Now you will shut up and listen. Doctor Banner here is going to do a series of studies on you but first, you will tell me your limits."

Alex bit lip and looked at the shorter man, who she assumed was the doctor. He and the other two adults were looking at her with interest but he was giving her a calculated look, as if trying to see deep inside her. A small shiver ran up her spine and she looked back to Fury.

"I can take out a maximum of 2,5 litres, my body can't produce it quick enough to survive for any length of time with less, pulling it back is out of the question. Hurts as fuck."

The man nodded. "When Doctor Banner is done, you will aid the Avengers in the finding of Loki and the Tesseract and retrieving it."

The girl merely stared at him. "Are you fucking kidding me? You want _me_ to help a group of people like Stark? I'm in high school you goddam lunatic!"

At this the tall blonde man stood up. "Now, that's enough. Watch your language young lady. Whatever you might think about Director Fury you still have to show him respect." He watched as she turned to him with a gobsmacked face.

"Who are you?"

"Steve Rogers ma'am. Captain America sometimes."

"… Well Captain. Shove your manners up your ass!" She glared at him. "You can let him fuck you over, hell I can't do anything about him screwing me right now. But that doesn't mean I have to like it!"

"That's enough Bells. Move your skinny ass to Dr. Banner's lab!" Fury yelled.

Alex stood up in alarm, glaring at the man. Bruce also got up, giving the girl a nervous glance before telling her to follow him. They walked through some hallways, all white and grey and uniformed, until they reached a large double door. Bruce paused before opening it, not sure how she would react to his request.

"There are various fragile things in here so I would appreciate it if you could put out your cigarette."

The girl looked at the cylinder formed death stick between her lips and grabbed it, she had lit it as soon as she had left the presence of Fury. She looked at it carefully before putting it out on the sole of her shoe. Her eyes turned to him and waited for him to continue. Bruce shook his head in surprise before opening the door and letting her in.

"You can sit there." He pointed to a large table to one side of the room.

Alex did as she was told. She might hate Fury and be more than a little annoyed at the Captain, but Dr. Banner seemed alright. In fact, he seemed more than a little uncomfortable in this base-thing of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s. She was quiet while he studied her.

What Bruce saw was an angry young woman in what she felt was enemy territory. She seemed to have a preference for high heeled shoes, fingerless gloves and the colour black. But if he had not heard the exchange between her and Fury he would not have guessed there was anything different about her.

"I gather you have some special ability with you blood?" He asked, grabbing a note pad and a pen to take notes with.

The girl nodded and put up her hands. From the tips of her fingers thin streaks of blood emerged and started floating around in circular motions. After a few turns the strings loosened themselves from her flesh and mashed together, creating a large hoop that positioned itself around his head.

"It takes more concentration for me to control it when it's not connected to my body." The blood floated back to her and into her fingers. She whimpered softly and Bruce remembered what she had said about it hurting.

"Right, well…" He grabbed two small test tubes. "Please put some of your blood in here and I can start the tests."

She did as he asked while asking a question of here own. "Why are you here?"

"I…" He began while starting some of the test at the same time. "…was asked to come here by Fury. Agent Natasha Romanov, the red haired woman, picked me up and brought me here."

"That doesn't answer my question."

Bruce looked up from the screen. "I can track down the tesseract."

"Tesseract?"

The man stared at her for a moment. "Did Fury actually tell you what you would have to do here?"

"He didn't give me more than the outline." She shrugged. "He didn't really need to either."

Banner sighed. "The tesseract is a cube of very strong energy, it uses gamma rays, something I specialise in. It came to our planet from Asgard, Thor's world, and Thor's brother Loki stole it. We have to get it back."

He saw her eyes clear as she got the gist of what was going on.

"So they didn't tell you you were going to be testing a freak of an eighteen-year-old?" She asked.

"You're not a freak… you're different." He read something on the screen. "And from what I can tell it's natural. Nothing to do with any form of radiation or anything like that. Here." He held out one of the tubes of blood. "I injected your red blood cells with a tiny amount of metal which I can track with that." He pointed at a large machine next to a glass case. "I'll be able to see how fast you can move you blood inside your own body."

She absorbed the blood, noting the slight weight change, and walking to the glass case. She stepped inside. It was no bigger than a shower. Bruce stood in front of the controls to the machine. The whirring of other apparatuses sounded low in the background. For a few seconds no one spoke.

"Is Tony coming?" Alex asked.

Bruce looked up in surprise. "He was going to be here today… You know Tony Stark?"

Nodding she answered: "Yeah. He's my friend." She paused before adding. "You remind me of him. Not his everyday him, that one's annoying as hell. The one I can actually talk to. He's rare though."

"I can't say I've met him, either of him, though his work is impressive." His eyebrows shot up. "Are you consciously moving you blood?"

"No? Why?"

"It seems as if you unconsciously keep most of you blood around your hands so you can use it in fights. Can it not get out any other way?"

"Well yeah, but then it has to rip through my skin and that hurts more than absorbing it."

Bruce winced at the idea.

A ping sounded behind them. He turned away to see the results. "You can get out of there!" He called over his shoulder. He turned back to the main computer, he read through the small report and tapped in a few things, watching contentedly as the machines went on to do other scans and processes.

"Have you been here before?"

"We were shown around yesterday, we worked out most of the details with Fury, but more preparations had to be made so we spent the night in New York."

Suddenly and alarm went off. Bruce looked up.

"That's…" Without another word he took off running towards the bridge, Alex followed.

"We got a hit. 67% match. Weight, cross match, 79%" Agent Sitwell was saying as they came through the door.

"Location?"

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Konigstrasse. He's not exactly hiding."

Fury turned to Steve Rogers. "Captain, you're up."

Both Captain America and the Black Widow left the room, leaving the Director to look at Bruce and Alex.

"Now, how are we doing?"

Bruce could swear he heard Alex curse the world as the three of them walked back to his lab.

* * *

"Thank humanity and every other goddam moronic living thing on this fucking trash piece of world, he's gone." Alexandra laid down on the large table as soon as Fury was out the door.

Bruce glanced at her, smiling slightly before looking back at the large blue screen that had her results.

"You don't like him much, huh?"

"You think? Genius, Dr. Banner!"

He shot her a glare over his shoulder before turning back.

"It seems… there is a different type of nerve in your blood cells, something very much out of the normal. There is what seems to be a receptor in your brain that helps you control your blood through those nerves. The blood plasma seems to be connected to these cells as there is a specific amount of red blood cells for each specific amount of plasma, this way you can keep you blood as a fluid even outside of your own body, though it seems it can also harden at will, or rather, your will." He scratched his head absentmindedly. "It's nothing like I've ever seen before… but I'm not a doctor, I'm a scientist, so I can't go into this much more."

Alex had walked to him and read the screen over his shoulder. She looked down at one of her hands, making two big drops of blood zoom out. They took the form of bullets and she had them float around her and Bruce in quick circles, like little jets. She raised her other hand to feel the back of her head, her eyes fixed on the red balls.

Yelling sounded outside the windows, drawing their attention. They looked out and saw many agents escorting a thin, black haired man through the doors. Bruce grabbed Alex's arm and pulled her towards the door.

"Dammit Banner!" She ripped her arm out of his grip. "I can walk fine on my own!" She called after him as he sped towards the bridge once more. Sighing she kept on walking, until she heard a loud arrogant voice, she ran then. Tony Stark. Finally a familiar face.

As she ran Bruce passed her on his way back to the lab, carrying a golden sceptre. She stopped, considering following him, but decided to keep going, Tony was gonna have to answer some questions before she even considered smiling at him for the first time.

She pushed the door to the bridge, pausing just long enough to register Romanov, Rogers, Tony and a taller blonde male before she strode to Tony and dragged him to a corner, ignoring his loud protests.

"Shut up Tony." She bit out turning her back to the other Avengers who had quieted down in order to stare.

Tony rolled his eyes. "So you missed me this much, did you Alex?"

She snorted. "No. I just want to know who the flying fuck S.H.I.E.L.D. got my name the day after I met that homunculus of an agent."

Tony, for once, seemed surprised. "Coulson got you name?"

"Yeah, how the fuck?"

"How am I supposed to know? I didn't tell him."

"Well, Fury threatened to have Trey deported! And he had me tested like I was some kind of animal!" She was ashamed, she was a freak!

A flash of anger passed through Tony's eyes before they were both distracted by the entrance of Bruce Banner as he joined the other Avengers in watching Fury and Loki's bitch-off through the security cameras. Alex and Tony stepped closer, ignoring the sideway glances most of the others shot at them, and listened to the conversation.

Alex had to admit, Loki seemed like a cool guy, someone she would actually not dislike have a conversation with… strange. The closer she studied him though, the more bitter she noticed he was. She did not think he was EVIL in the basic sense of the word, he was… pissed off.

"Who's he pissed at?" She whispered to Tony. Fake whispered since she actually didn't care if the others heard her.

"That would be Thor, his brother." Tony fake whispered back. "Them not getting along would be an underestimation. They like to have their… family spats here on earth, as they should. Why wouldn't you half-destroy a world that doesn't belong to you at a whim?"

Alex rolled her eyes. Tony.

"… Was built for something much stronger than you…" Fury was saying.

"Who?" The teenage asked. "And why the fuck did he tell me absolutely nothing?"

"The Hulk. Because you're so reasonable when people tell you stuff." Tony smirked.

Alex punched his arm. Hard.

"… Real Power needs a magazine or something."

"Well Fury's in his time of the month ain't he?"

"Only he doesn't have it only once a month." Tony raised his hand waiting for her to high five him.

"No."

"Aw, come on. You know you wanna."

With a sigh she slapped his hand with her own, earning a triumphant grin from him.

Bruce shook his head, deciding not to comment on how different she was around him. "He really grows on you doesn't he?"

"Loki's gonna drag this out." Steve said from his seat. He turned to Thor. "So, Thor, what's his play?"

Thor waited until everyone was seated, or at least around the table, before speaking.

"He has an army called the Chitauri. They're not of Asgard or any world known. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth in return for, I suspect, the Tesseract."

"An army? From outer space?"

Bruce rubbed the back of his head. "So he's building another portal. That's what he needs Selvig for."

Thor's head shot up at hearing the name. "Selvig?"

Bruce nodded. "He's an astrophysicist."

"He's a friend." Thor corrected.

Romanov decided to but in. "Loki has him under some kind of spell, along with one of ours."

Steve stood, shaking his head while looking at the now blank screen. "I wanna know why Loki let us take him. He's not leading an army from here."

Bruce smirked. "I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is full of cats, you could smell crazy on him."

Thor turned on him, glaring with such intensity Bruce looked looked down. "I don't care how you speak. Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother."

"So he does care." Alex mumbled, not intending for anyone to hear. If Tony, who was standing next to her, heard her he didn't show it.

"He killed eighty people in two days." The red head supplied.

"He's adopted."

Banner wasn't listening to the banter about Loki anymore and started talking aloud to himself. "Iridium. What did he need Iridium for?"

Tony, who had been itching to say something, jumped up from his seat. "It's a stabilising agent. Means the portal won't collapse on itself like it did with S.H.I.E.L.D." He turned, realising people were looking at him strangely, except for Alex who was used to his outbursts. He looked away from them and turned to the people at the computers, letting his eyes wander. "It also means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants… That man is playing GALAGA!" He cried suddenly, making people jump. "Thought we wouldn't notice but we did… How does Fury do this?" He asked as he looked around with one eyes covered.

Alex rolled her eyes and dropped her head on her hands.

"He turns."

"Sounds exhausting-"

"Tony for fuck's sakes get on with it!" Alex snapped.

Tony pouted but soon regained his composure and kept going as if he hadn't just been yelled at by an eighteen year old girl. Not that the others ignored this small scuffle, more than one strange look was shot at her. Again.

"The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source. A high energy density, something to kickstart the cube."

"When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?" Alex asked.

"How do you know it's astrophysics?"

"You're talking about what Selvig would need to do. Selvig's an astrophysicist. 1+1=2" Alex raised an eyebrow. "I'm not a moron. Answer the question."

"Last night." Tony shrugged. "The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers. Am I the only one who did the reading?"

His question went unanswered as Steve kept going. "Does Loki need a particular kind of power source?"

Bruce shrugged. "He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier."

Tony stepped closer to him, pointing with his finger. "Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilise the quantum tunnelling effect."

"Well, if he could do that he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet."

Tony smiled and walked towards him, throwing his arms upwards in elation. "Finally! Someone who speaks english!"

"Is that what just happened?" Steve asked as he watched the youngest facepalm.

The two scientists shook hands with a glint in their eyes that had most of the inhabitants of the room shivering at the possibilities of monsters they could create together.

"It's good to meet you Dr. Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

Bruce lowered his gaze. "Thanks."

"Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube." Fury stepped in the room. "I was hoping you might join him."

Tony's eyes flickered to Alex for a fraction of a second. "Only?"

Steve interrupted him. "Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon."

Fury shook his head. "I don't know about that, but it's powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

Thor looked confused. "Monkeys? I do not understand."

"I do!" The Captain jumped up. "I understood that reference!"

Tony sniggered.

"Time-skip much Captain?" Alex asked under her breath, loud enough for the rest of the room to hear. Steve looked at her with a slight twitch in his eye. She had been rather rude earlier in the day and he had still not forgiven her.

Once more Tony kept on going like a steam train. "Shall we play, Dr.?"

Bruce smiled. "Let's play some."

As they walked out of the room Tony turned back. "Alex! You coming?"

"In a bit." She called back. She kept her eyes fixed on Thor, who was returning her stare full force even if he didn't know what she was so interested in.

Tony shrugged and kept going. The rest of the room's inhabitants, except for the ones that had to be there to keep the Helicarrier flying, left, leaving the demigod and the girl deep in a staring contest.


	7. Gods

**So this was a VERY quick update. Don't get your hopes up, it was just the plot bunnies not letting me sleep. I have a few exams coming up so I won't do this until the holidays. **

**I do not own the Avengers.**

* * *

"What is it you want, child?" Thor asked, keeping his eyes fixed on the girl. He did not know what made him so uneasy. Maybe it was the blank gaze she had trained on him, maybe it was the strange feeling that she was more than human, maybe it was the air around her that reminded him of Loki.

The girl's face pulled into a scowl at the term 'child' but she said nothing, she only stepped closer. She smelled faintly of tobacco which made his nose itch slightly. She stood face to face with him, or face to chest, and looked into his eyes. Deep in them he could see a spark of interest and… maybe… pain? Something of the sort. He had never been good at reading emotions but he knew that this girl made the pit in his stomach, which had appeared as a result of the guilt about Loki, felt larger when she looked at him.

"Do you care about him?" She spoke finally, stunning Thor to the point he forgot to answer. "Well?" She insisted.

"Care for whom?" He asked, slightly confused.

"Your brother. Loki." The name came out like a breathless whisper, with a mixture of admiration and fascination which troubled him deeply.

He ignored the feeling and answered.

"I think he is not himself. He was always very ambitious but never to this point. I hurt him badly before and I regret it. Of course I care for him, but I fear he will never forgive me or see the wrong in his ways." He leaned back against the wall and she took another step forwards.

"What did you do?"

Thor looked away. Or tried to. No matter where he tried to look he found himself meeting her eyes again, as if he were drawn to her. It was most unnerving.

"That is none of your business. What I will tell you is this: he believes his family does not love him, I love him, I cannot speak for my parents butI know I do. He must come to his senses." He spoke with confidence, even if he wavered on the inside at her calculating look. He did not know how to deal with sort of person, she was too… different.

The girl looked him up and down before turning away and walking out the door. She stalked down the hallway to the lab. Opening the door she found Tony and Bruce so deep into their researched that she didn't even bother trying to get their attention, they would only deafen her with facts she did not understand. She grabbed her bag from one of the tables and walked out, swinging it over her shoulder. She walked down different hallways, keeping to the ones that had windows, and tried to find a spot where she would not be disturbed. She was fucking sick of being surrounded by these jackasses. By accident she stumbled on a door, a glass door, through which she saw another door that looked at lot, a hell of a lot, like the one to the room Loki was kept in.

Alex looked around her before opening the door and slowly stepping towards the second one. She put her hand on the door handle and turned it. The metal frame swung open and she was greeted by a man staring at her in surprise from the other side of a wall of glass.

For the first time in what seemed a decade, the girl smiled. A true, genuine smile. And she didn't even know why she was doing it. He had killed dozens of people, he was trying to take over the world with an alien army. Still, she did't try to stop her lips from pulling upwards in joy.

At this the man seemed even more confused. Well, he couldn't exactly be called a man, now could he? A god. The air around him felt special, it felt heavier but smelled fresher. She walked up to the glass and kept staring. He was tall, almost as tall as Thor, but he had a more slender frame. He wasn't skinny, he was just of smaller build than his brother, anyone would look skinny next to that boulder. He had black hair, much like her own, that fell to his chin, pale, chiselled features and his eyes were the most vivid green she had ever seem. Like grass, only more acidic, brighter. They were staring at her with almost as much captivation as she was staring at him with.

"I'm Alex." She said.

"Why are you here?" He discarded her name. "Are you with Fury?"

The girl scowled at the name. "I guess. Not my choice though."

"Why are you here?" He repeated.

Alex frowned. "I heard you the first time." She hissed. "You mind me being here?"

Loki thought for a minute. True, he was not expecting this to happen, but was it completely unpleasant? He studied her. Yes. She was definitely special, he could tell. He didn't mind, not too much at least.

"You're a damn sight better than Fury. Or my brother." He added as an afterthought.

She raised her eyebrows. Dropping her bag, she sunk to her knees and looked up at him. She waved a hand, telling him to sit down and he, not even knowing why, did.

"About your brother. I asked. He says you think your family hate you, he says he loves you."

Loki sneered. "As if I care. He can rot. Him and his parents. They're not even my biological parents and they always knew, they never said a word."

"I think like that."

Loki gave her a curious glance.

Alex shrugged. "I don't think we're too different. We certainly have more in common than others. Even without hearing this stuff I could tell. Could you?"

Loki was quiet for a second but then answered: "I knew there was something different about you. I couldn't tell what,"

"I hate my parents too. I don't have any siblings. But I guess with me, the hate started the other way around. I hate them because they hate me. They hate you because you hate them. Am I wrong?"

Loki didn't answer but she could tell by just looking at him. It was strange. It wasn't as if she was attracted to him. No. The only one she was attracted to was Trey. She could tell Loki wasn't attracted to her either. There was just something that made them… connect.

Alex fumbled in her bag and took out a small notepad and a pen.

"I compose music." She commented. "I learned when I was small, had nothing to do anyway. I love it."

Strangely enough, Loki leaned forwards, his face filled with a curiosity she could almost call childish if it weren't for the fact that it was Loki. She turned the pad and let him see the scribbles. The names of the instruments and the pases and counts were written in fluid writing and even though he couldn't read it he could tell she had made it. A small tug at the corned of his lips. A tiny shine in his eyes. Alex saw it. She leaned closer to the glass and started explaining how music was read and Loki, always curious about new knowledge, listened intensely.

Hours passed and Alex had told him about many things, world history, different cultures, economy, physics, they jumped from topic to topic and neither of them lost track of the converstion. Sadly they were interrupted by a shrill ring. Alex's phone. With a confused frown she picke dit up.

"Hello?"

"Alex?"

"Tony?"

"Where are you?"

"Never mind that. How the fuck did you call me? We have no signal."

"Ah, I'm a genius. Learn to live with it." Alex rolled her eyes. "Anyway. Where are you?"

"Somewhere. Why?"

"Come here. To the lab. We have something for you."

Alex groaned. "Fine." She spat. "But if it's a waste of time I'll castrate you." She hung up. "Sorry Loki. I have to go. Tony's being a moron."

"Tony Stark?" Loki asked as they stood up and she packed her things.

"Yeah. He's a… well… I guess he's a friend. Doesn't know much about me though." She mumbled. "I'll come to see you again, okay?"

She was almost out the door when she heard him call back at her: "Watch out for the Hulk."

Giving him a confused glance she nodded and left. She knew that the camera used by Fury had sound but they had turned down the volume when they had stopped monitoring. She guessed that if they had been aware of her being there they would have taken her away.

By the time she got to the lab, she had to admit she had gotten lost, Tony and Bruce were still busy with all the monitors and didn't even notice her come in.

"The gamma readings are definitely consistent with Selvig's reports on the Tesseract. But it's gonna take weeks to process." Bruce was saying.

"If we bypass their mainframe and direct a reroute to the Homer cluster, we can clock this around 600 teraflops." Tony commented without turning around to look at him.

Bruce sighed. "All I brought was a toothbrush."

"You know, "Tony began, turning to Bruce but winking at Alex as soon as he saw her. "You should come by Stark tower sometime. Top ten floors, all R&D. You'd love it, it's candy land."

Bruce shook his head. "Thanks, but the last time I was in New York I kind of broke… Harlem."

Alex snorted, causing Bruce to spin around to her in surprise. "I didn't hear you come in."

"Oh, you two were busy geeking off so I decided to wait."

Meanwhile, Tony had wandered over to Bruce. "I promise a stress free environment. No tension, no surprises." Then he poked his fellow scientist with an electric rod, much to Alex's amusement.

"Ow!" Bruce shot Tony a small glare just as Steve came in.

"Nothing?" Tony was eyeing Bruce closely, trying to see a hint of green. Bruce rolled his eyes and Alex, no longer interested, grabbed her small notepad but kept her eyes on the Captain.

"Hey!" Steve strode forwards, stepping between Tony and Bruce. "Are you nuts?"

Tony ignored Steve and looked at Bruce around him. "You really have got a lid on it, haven't you? WHat's your secret?" He stepped to his side again. "Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?"

Steve pushed his back, away from the other man. "Is everything a joke to you?" He didn't notice Alex putting her notepad down as soon as he touched Tony.

"Funny things are." Tony answered shrugging.

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. Sorry doctor." He added.

Bruce had already turned back to the computer. "No, it's alright. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things."

Alex frowned for a second. They were talking about Bruce?… Hulk. Her eyes snapped over to him as the realisation hit her. 'You're not a freak… you're different.' He had seemed nervous when he said that. Was it because of… that? But Loki had said… ah, shit. And she couldn't say anything because… well… Loki. While Alex was having her -admittedly late- epiphany, the conversation between the men had kept going and, for some reason, was now about Fury.

"'A warm light for all mankind.'" Bruce quoted. "Loki's jab at Fury about the cube."

Steve nodded. "I heard it."

Bruce pointed at Tony. "I think it was meant for you. Even if Barton didn't post that all over the news."

Steve frowned slightly. "Stark Tower? That big ugly-" He was cut short by Tony's glare.

Bruce ignored this and kept going. "It's powered by Stark Reactors, self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for what, a year?"

"That's just the prototype. I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now." Tony smirked. A fat load of cash, that's what that meant.

Nodding, Bruce continued: "So why didn't SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project? I mean, what are they doing in the energy business in the first place?"

"I should probably look into that once my decryption programmer finishes breaking into all of SHIELD's secure photos."

"I'm sorry, did you say…" Steve trailed off with a look of incredulity on his face. Alex rolled her eyes, did he seriously think Tony Stark, of all people, would let himself be used as a pawn? Not even funny. The Captain was obviously a genius. Not, she added in her mind.

"Jarvis has been running it since I hit the bridge." Tony shrugged. "In a few hours we'll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide." Out of nowhere, it seemed, he conjured a small bag of blueberries and offered it to the Captain. "Blueberry?"

Ignoring the offer, Steve shook his head. "Yet you're confused why they don't want you around?"

Tony offered some berries to Alex, who took a small handful and started popping them in her mouth. He leaned on the side of the table next to her. "An intelligence organisation that fears intelligence? Historically, not possible."

"Moronic more like." Alex commented as soon as she had swallowed. Tony sniggered.

Steve glared at them. "I think Loki's trying to wind us up." He didn't notice the glare the girl sent him at the mention of the god's name. "This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them."

"Following's not really my style."

"And you're all about style aren't you?" Steve asked, smiling.

Alex hissed a warning at him, a few drops of blood ran down her fingers but she stopped as soon as Tony retaliated.

"Of all the people in this room, who is; A, wearing a spangly outfit, B, not of use, and C, not here on invitation?"

He obviously added the last part because Alex was both wearing a spangly outfit and not of use but she wasn't the one bothering him. She could be a lot of things but she never actually offended him, she swore, yes, but she couldn't really help it.

"Steve, tell me none of this smells funky to you?" Bruce stood between the tallest man and the pair by the table, trying to stop a war from happening.

Steve wavered for a second before turning to the door. "Just find the cube." He said, and left.

Alex made a disgusted sound. "I don't like him. Fucking male-barbie buffed-gorilla hybrid." She shoved Tony on the shoulder. "What did you want anyway?"

"Ah! That!" He pranced back to his desk and grabbed a small glass case. "We read up on a few things and found we had the equipment we needed to make these. They're not 100% complete, they're still gross, but when we get back home I'll make proper ones." He handed her the box as Bruce stood next to her, both were looking at her with expectant eyes.

Curiously, she opened the lid. Inside were lots, around three dozen, of small red pills. They were round and small enough to swallow easily. "What are they for?" She asked as she picked one up and brought it closer to her eyes to study it.

"For your blood. You said you could only take out 2 litres at a time. After you do so, you can swallow one of these and it will replenish the blood in your body within a few seconds. It accelerates the blood production by 200 fold. It might make you dizzy and nauseous the first few times but you'll get used to it. This way you'll be able to fight properly."

Alex was quiet as she slipped a few pills in her shorts pocket, stuffing the box in her bag. "So I'm gonna be fighting. Motherfucking yay."

"We'll all be suiting up Alex, besides, you know how to fight."

"Street fights aren't the same Tony."

"I won't be suiting up. I'm exposed, like a nerve." Bruce mumbled.

"You know." Tony started. "I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart. This stops it." He tapped the arc reactor in his chest. " This little circle of light. It's part of me now, not just armour. It's a… terribly privilege."

"But you can control it."

"Because I learned how."

"It's different."

"I couldn't control it." Alex started. "I mean… I could but that didn't matter. I'm a monster anyway, in my parents' eyes. Wether you can control it or not doesn't change that it's part of who you are. I hate it when people treat me like specimen because they make me feel like I shouldn't accept myself. Maybe you should accept yourself." She looked away from both the inquisitive gazes. Bruce's stunned one and Tony's shocked one. He hadn't know about her parents. She hastily stood up and walked to the window, she sat down with her back to them.

Silence reigned for a few minutes, until Tony broke the silence again by talking to Bruce. He knew that if Alex was going to tell him anything, it would be when they were alone.

"Ye, I've read all about your accident. That much gamma exposure should have killed you."

"So you're saying that the Hulk… the other guy… saved my life?" He shook his head. "That's nice. It's a nice sentiment. Saved it for what?"

"I guess we'll find out."

They both turned away again, back to work. Alex stood up, leaving the room. She heard the last exchange just before she closed the door.

"You might not like that." Bruce whispered.

"You just might." Tony whispered back.

Alex walked back to a small corner she had found on her way to the lab and sat down, putting her earphones in and turning up the music volume. She's had enough of people for one day, the only people she could still talk to were either imprisoned, working or in New York. Fuck her life. How in the name of all that is good in this world, had she landed herself fighting someone who was both a huge threat, and a kindred spirit? And the fuck was up with all these agents? Fury, Coulson, Hill, Romanov… the Captain. They all behaved like something crawled up their ass and died. Honestly people? Rules this, rules that, orders this, orders that, Fury this, SHIELD that. She wished she could just get out of here and back home. With Trey.

Still grumbling and fuming, Alex fell asleep.


	8. Hulk

**HEEEEY! I just got back from a short camping trip. I went climbing outside and it was awesome as fuck. I must hold a burial for my knees though... Anyway. I kind of got bored in this chapter since it was almost completely from the script so it took a bit longer. The next one will be on more quickly. Please review if you have criticism, ideas or any kind of comment really.**

* * *

Loki smirked and turned around, looking the red haired woman up and down before commenting.

"There's not many people that can sneak up on me."

"But you figured I'd come." She said, crossing her arms and glaring slightly.

"After. After whatever tortures Fury can concoct, you would appear as a friend, as a balm. And I would cooperate." He didn't mention that there was one person he had already told a few things to, but he didn't think Alexandra would appreciate him telling S.H.I.E.L.D. about her having talked to him.

"I want to know what you've done to Agent Barton."

_Expanded his mind _a harsh voice whispered in his ear, telling him what to say like on every occasion regarding the invasion. He didn't know when it had started, neither did he think about disobeying it, everything it said made sense.

"I'd say I expanded his mid."

"And once you've won, once you're the king of the mountain. What happens to his mind?" She narrowed her eyes and stepped closer to the glass. He seemed more relaxed than when they had brought him in, nothing had happened though, right?

"Is this love, Agent Romanov?" He taunted, leaning closer until his face almost touched the glass.

"Love is for children, I owe him a debt."

"Ah." He turned and sat, not taking his eyes off her face. "Tell me."

"Before I worked for SHIELD, I uh… Made a name for myself. I have a very specific skill set. I didn't care who I used it for, or on. I got on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radar in a bad way. Agent Barton was sent to kill me, he made a different call."

"And what will you do if I vow to spare him?"

"Not let you out." She snapped.

He let a cold laugh spill from his lips. "Ah, no, of course not." Not everyone would fraternize with an enemy for someone they loved. "But I like this. Your world in the balance and you bargain for one man?"

"Regimes fall every day. I tend not to weep over that, I'm Russian, or was." She shrugged.

"What is it you want?"

"It's really not that complicated. I've got red in my ledger, I'd like to wipe it all out."

"Can you?" He stood. "Can you wipe out so much red? Drakov's daughter? Sao Paulo? The hospital fire? Barton told me everything. Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing red, and you think saving a man no more virtuous than yourself will change anything?" He smiled cruelly. "This is the basest sentimentality. This is a child's prayer… Pathetic!" Loki's face resembled a wolf's as he looked at his prey. "You lie and kill in the service of liars and killers. You pretend to be separate, to have your own code, something that makes up for the horrors. But they are part of you and they will never go away!" He hit the glass with both hands, making the woman flinch.

"I won't touch Barton. Not until I make him kill you! Slowly. Intimately. In every way he know you fear! And when he's done he'll wake up just long enough to see his good work, and when he screams, I'll split his skull! This is my bargain you mewling quim!"

Natasha turned away, wiping a few tears from her eyes, seemingly sobbing. "You monster." She whispered.

"No. You brought the monster."

In a second she turned around, completely fine.

"So, Banner. That's your play."

"What?" Loki asked, staggered slightly at the sudden change.

"Loki plans to release the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab, I'm on my way. Send Thor and Bells as well." She ordered into an earpiece, striding out of the room.

As soon as she was out, Loki growled. A mortal. A mere mortal fooled him like that! _Kill her_. Yes, yes, good idea. She would rue the day she fooled a god. He had only been trying to scare her, he had not been planning on really being that cruel, but now… Barton was going to do everything he said he would.

* * *

Thor followed the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent that led him to the lab of Banner and the metal man. His mind could not leave Loki. Loki was his brother and no matter what he did, Thor would never stop loving him. Finding out he was adopted had almost driven him mad and ruined all of Loki's plans. The plans he had made to help Thor become a proper king, even if he had to break all the rules while doing it. He had known he would never be chosen king, he was the god of mischief and lies, the Aisir didn't really like him much. He knew Thor would become king, he knew he wasn't up for it. Loki had been a very loyal brother, he got into a lot of trouble but never like this. It was completely unlike him and Thor could not accept it was truly his brother.

Natasha strode down the hall, speeding to the lab. If Banner got angry before they could do something about it, every person in the helicarrier would be in danger. Her thoughts were cut off as her eyes landed on the teenage girl, curled up in a small nook by a window. She was fast asleep. Her face was peaceful, lacking the scowl that normally adorned her face and she seemed normal for once.

The agent rolled her eyes and shook the girl awake. Golden eyes snapped open and a red ribbon wrapped itself around her arms, squeezing so tight it even made Natasha flinch. As soon as Alex recognised the older woman she pulled back her blood, standing up quickly. Natasha, who had not seen her 'ability' before, took a few seconds to process what had just happened before signalling for her to follow her.

"Where are we going?" Alex mumbled, slightly put off at being awoken. She didn't even have enough energy to be snappy, dammit.

"To the lab. All of us are meeting there, there are a few things we need to take care of." Natasha answered, not looking back at the girl. She didn't really have an opinion on her. From what she'd heard from Hill the girl had been blackmailed into being here, so she couldn't exactly be judged for being pissed off. Plus, she was a teenage girl from New York. It wasn't as if she could expect the maturity or control of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.

Alex shook her head, but followed anyway. As if she cared, she probably wasn't involved anyway.

Nick Fury opened the door to the lab, freezing at the sight of the two scientists not doing what they were supposed to be doing, that being looking for the Tesseract. Anger welled up as he stepped in the room and slammed a hand on a desk, making both the men who had been staring at the screen jump.

"What are you doing, mr Stark?" The director asked through clenched teeth.

Tony didn't even try to look apologetic. "Uh… Kind of been wondering the same thing about you."

"You are supposed to be locating the Tesseract." Nick said, counting to ten in his head.

"We are." Bruce defended. "The model's locked and now we're sweeping for the signature. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile."

"And you'll get your cube back, no muss, no fuss." Tony finished. Suddenly files started popping up on his screen. He looked at them, frowning slightly. "What's Phase 2?"

Fury didn't get a chance to answer as Steve suddenly stepped in the room and dropped a Hydra weapon on the table. He was scowling furiously as he looked at the director.

"Phase 2 is SHIELD using the cube to make weapons." He growled. Turning to look at Tony he added. "Sorry, the computer was moving a bit slow."

Nick held up his hands in a placating gesture, he had not anticipated this. "Rogers, we gathered everything related to the tesseract. This does not mean that we're-"

"I'm sorry Nick." Tony cut him off, not sounding sorry at all. He turned the screen so that everyone could see the weapon plans. "Were you lying?" He asked sarcastically.

"I was wrong, director. The world hasn't changed a bit." Steve said, shaking his head disgustedly.

The door opened and Natasha and Thor walked in, followed closely by Alex who looked ruffled. By the way she still hadn't opened her eyes fully, Tony would say she had been sleeping but he didn't go into it, there were more important things to take care of. He did note, however, that as soon as she walked in she went to stand by his right shoulder, keeping a weary eye on everyone around them.

"Did you know about this?" Bruce was asking. He was looking at Natasha, a small hint of anger in his eyes.

"You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, doctor?"

"I was in Calcutta, I was pretty well removed." His eyebrow twitched slightly.

"Loki's manipulating you." The agent supplied.

Alex's eyes snapped open, nailing the woman with a sharp stare before realising she would seem suspicious and calming down. Luckily no one was looking at her. Had Romanov talked to Loki? He wouldn't have told her… how?… She almost snorted when she caught on to the fact the LOKI the god of MISCHIEF had been duped.

"And you've been doing what exactly?" Bruce continued, slowly losing his temper. A shaking hand passed through his hair, trying to calm himself.

"You didn't come here because I batted my eyelashes at you."

"Yes, and I'm not going anywhere because suddenly you get a little twitchy. I'd like to know why S.H.I.E.L.D. is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction."

Before anyone could answer, Nick reacted. "Because of him." He pointed at Thor.

"Me?" Thor, who had been listening to the conversation with slight bemusement, looked stunned. He stared at the eye-patched man with wide eyes.

"Last year earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge that levelled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, outgunned."

"My people want nothing but peace with your planet." Thor growled.

"But you're not the only people out there, are you? And you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled."

Alex smothered a snort, only pulling Tony's attention slightly. Controlled? They had to control everything, did they? How so like a government agency, that's what they did. GOVERN. Assholes. Threats here, threats there. Hilarious until they ended up killing someone innocent, which seemed a very possible outcome at the moment.

"Like you controlled the cube?" Steve asked.

"Your work with the cube is what drew Loki to it, and his allies. It is the signal to all the realms that earth is ready for a higher form of war."

"Fucking great." Alex mumbled. "Motherfucking awesome."

"A higher form?" Steve looked at Thor confused.

"You forced our hand. We had to come up with something." Fury said.

"Nuclear deterrent. 'Cause that always calms everything right down." Tony uttered, disgust dripping from his voice.

"Remind me again how you made your fortune Stark?" Nick countered.

"I'm sure if he still made weapons, Stark would be in neck deep-"

"Wait, wait! Hold on! How is this about me?" Tony interrupted them.

"I'm sorry. Isn't everything?" Steve asked in fake innocence.

Tony glowered and attempted to step forwards but Alex stopped him, holding on to his arms gently. Strangely gently. She never behaved like that. He shot a sideways glance at her but saw that she was not looking at him, her eyes were fixed on the Captain with a feral anger he had never seen before.

"I thought humans were more evolved than this." Thor mumbled.

"Excuse me. Did we come to your planet to blow shit up?" Fury rounded on the god.

"Did you always give your champions such mistrust?"

"Captain America is on the potential threat watch list?" Banner looked at the director with a baffled expression on his face.

"Are you all that naïve?" Natasha snapped. "S.H.I.E.L.D. monitors threats."

Tony ignored her. "You're on that list?" He softly brushed off Alex's hands. "Are you above or below angry bees? Threatening! I feel threatened!"

"I swear to god Stark, one more crack-"

"Or what, old man?" Alex snapped, standing next to Tony.

Thor stepped forwards, attempting to regain peace. "You speak of control, yet you court chaos."

Bruce started shaking his head. "It's his M.O. isn't it? I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, no. We're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're… We're a time-bomb." He had been unconsciously stepping forwards.

"You need to step away." Fury warned him.

"Why shouldn't the guy blow off a little steam?" He wrapped an arm around the Captain, only to have it thrown off.

"You know damn well why! Back off!" The larger blonde snapped, facing him.

"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me."

Alex tensed at the sight of the two men standing face to face, ready to hit each other. Small strings of blood wrapped themselves around her fingers as she subconsciously prepared herself for a fight.

"Big man in a suit of armour, take that away and what are you?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." Tony listed.

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. Yeah, I've seen the footage." He supplied at Tony's raised eyebrows. "The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

Tony kept his cool, pretending he wasn't in the least affected, which he was, Alex could tell he was. "I think I would just cut the wire."

Steve smiled, shaking his head. "Always a way out… You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

Tony took a step forwards. "A hero? Like you?" His voice became louder every second and the other Avengers stopped their conversations for a few seconds. Alex held on to one of his wrists just in case. "Everything special about you came out of a bottle!"

Steve stepped forwards, Tony stood his ground. "Put on the suit, let's go for a few rounds."

Thor's booming laugh interrupted. "You people are so petty… and tiny!"

Alex rolled her eyes. Gods.

Bruce turned away to look at some monitors again. "Yeah, this is a tee…" He was mumbling to himself.

"Agent Romanov, would you escort Dr, Banner back to his…" He trailed off not knowing where to send the physicist.

"Where? You rented my room." Banner commented with a light shrug. In his voice was a slight hint of acid and his eyes narrowed in resentment. The teenager couldn't help but agree as she let go of her older friend.

"The cell was just in case…"

"In case you needed to kill me, but you can't! I know! I tried!"

The room was silent at the serious admission. He looked around for a second before he kept talking. "I got low. I didn't see the end so put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out!" He shook his head in wry amusement. "So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk!" He turned back to Natasha, a small smug smile grazing his features. "You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanov? You wanna know how I stay calm?"

"Dr Banner, put down the sceptre." Fury ordered.

Bruce looked down only to see Loki's sceptre in his hand. The whole room had been waiting with a baited breath until he put it down slowly. He seemed surprised to find the elongated object in his hand, just as surprised as they all had been when he had reached out for it.

A sudden beeping filled the room.

"Got it!" Tony exclaimed as both scientists ran over to a monitor.

"Sorry kids, looks like you won't be able to see my little party trick after all." Bruce said as he typed in a few things.

The others ignored the comment.

"Have you located the Tesseract?" Thor asked.

Tony was already striding away. "I can get there faster."

"Look, all of us-" Steve was interrupted by Thor.

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard, no human is a match for it."

Steve grabbed Tony as he made another turn for the door. "You're not going alone!"

"You gonna stop me?"

"Put on the suit, let's find out."

"I'm not afraid to hit an old man."

Alex's eyes snapped between the men as they argued, trying to find a way to stop them. If it turned into a full blown fight the ship might be destroyed.

"Put. On. The. Suit." Steve bit out each word.

"Oh my god!"

Everyone's eyes turned to Bruce just in time for an explosion to go off.

The Avengers were cast to all sides; most are thrown across the room but Natasha, Bruce and Alex fall through a hole in the ground. They land in a heap with rubble covering them.

Above, the others do their best to regain their senses.

"Put on the suit!" Steve calls over to Tony. Tony nodded and ran out of the room, turning a corner to find his suit.

Fury turns on an earpiece, asking Hill for the status of the helicarrier. An engine's gotta be patched or the whole ship would be vulnerable. Tony, who had been following the conversation called out: "I'm on it!"

"Coulson, initiate official lock down in the detention section, then get to the armory! Move out!" Fury was ordering.

Natasha made to get up, panting heavily as her eyes turned to the sides. "I'm okay. We're okay, right?"

She looked over at Bruce, who was trying to maintain control. His eyes were green and his face was contorted. Alex, who was slightly behind Natasha and who had been able to stop most things from hitting her by keeping blood armour over her body pushed herself back, rummaging in her pocket for the small box of pills. Making sure they were there she started pulling back the blood, being careful not to make a single sound as the Agent occupied herself with the doctor. As soon as she was done she scuttled away into the shadows so no one would see her.

"Doctor… Bruce, you gotta fight it. This is just what Loki wants. We're gonna be okay. Listen to me." She waved off some other Agents that came to aid her, they obeyed and ran away.

Alex, on the other hand, perked up at hearing what the readhead said. What Loki wants… _Watch out for the Hulk_… Aw fuck. She shut her eyes tight, trying to figure out what to do. Loki could get her away from SHIELD, couldn't he? She was sure he would take her with him if she asked and he would go to New York. Would she fight on his side?… Maybe… Not against Tony though, he would also be pretty pissed at her… But he would forgive her. If they didn't want her running off they shouldn't have dragged her there in the first place. Making up her mind she crawled away, hurrying to Loki's 'room'.

She got out of the room just as huge crashing sounds were heard behind her. Wincing she ran off. It wasn't like she disliked Banner or Romanov, she was neutral on both of them, but there was no way in hell she was staying there. She staggered as she saw Tony in his suit working on one of the engines, outside the helicarrier. If she looked closely she could see flashes of red and blue in a crevice near the place where the helicarrier and the engine connected. Of all the people to be working together...

Alex kept running, doing her best to ignore the loud noises, explosions, alarms and roars filling the air. Her eyes whipped around as she tried to find something to tell her where she was. Suddenly she spotted a small map in a corner, indicating escape routes for emergencies. Studying it closely she was able to find the way to the lab, she could find her way from there. She rubbed her ankle absently before taking off again, her ankle had been bothering her for a bit, not really surprising since she had twisted it while trying to get away from the Hulk. She was covered in bruises but those could be taken care of easily.

Recognising the hallway on which the lab was located she turned around, thinking about the route she had to take. Her eyes landed on something small, laying on the ground. A set of keys… Picking it up she recognized the small keyhanger in the form of a tiny Iron Man. Tony and his eccentricity. She rolled her eyes and shoved the small object in the pocket of her body warmer before running to Loki's room.

The man was just sitting patiently in cell when she entered.

"You look terrible, Alex." He commented smirking.

"And you look bored. What did Bruce ever do to you?" She asked while walking to the control panel and fidgeting with some buttons.

"Nothing in particular. Are you here to leave with me, or just to let me out?" He stood and walked towards the door.

"I'm leaving with you. But I'm not hurting Tony, and neither are you." She fixed him with a pointed glare.

"Bargaining are we?"

"Not bargaining here."

He let out a sigh of exasperation. "Fine. Now let me out."

She smiled and pressed one of the buttons she had found. The glass doors slid open just as they heard someone running to the room.

"Duck." He warned her and no sooner had she done that, than Thor came barging in the room.

"No!" The blonde yelled and charged at his brother.

Loki crouched and prepared to spring, only to have Thor pass right through him into the room. Alex knew what she had to do and closed the doors. Thor's eyes widened as they landed on her but his attention was quickly pulled back to Loki.

"Are you ever not going to fall for that?" He walked to the control panel and Alex stepped aside, keeping her eyes on Thor. He wasn't lying when he had said he loved Loki, she could see it in his eyes, but it was very hard not to hate someone who was threatening to destroy your favorite planet. He was pulling it off quite nicely with only violent resentment and anger as he smashed mjolnir on the glass.

A harsh shudder racked the ship but only a small crack appeared. Loki stayed standing but Alex was forced to hold on to his arms so as not to fall. He didn't even glance her way.

Something to their side caught her eye and she stepped back, pulling Loki with her slightly, he sent her a questioning look which cleared when he heard an Agent's calm voice.

"Move away please." Agent Coulson was holding one of the weapons Tony had found out about and pointing it right at them.

Loki moved away from the control panel and softly moved the girl's hand off his arm.

"You like this? We started working on the prototype after you sent The Destroyer. Even I don't know what it does. Do you want to find out?"

As soon as he was done talking a blade impaled him from behind.

"No!" Thor yelled.

Both his and Alex's eyes become fixed on the figure slumped against the wall but, while Alex's eyes remained where they were, Thor looks back at his brother. A slight hopeful look in his eyes as the black haired god steps to the panel again. Whatever hope there was was unfounded because Loki just let the cage drop from the ship without a second glance. He closed the hatch and turned to Alex, who was now looking at the place his brother disappeared from. Her eyes were wide and filled with shock. Her pale face, which was covered in bruises, was even paler and she turned to look at him with a strange look. Not one of disgust, or anger, but of realization.

"You're going to lose." A weak voice uttered. They both turned to look at the dying Agent.

"Am I?" Loki asked.

"It's in your nature."

"You heroes are scattered, your floating fortress fall from the sky, where is my disadvantage?" He asked coming closer.

Alex took a deep breath as he moved, trying to calm herself down.

"You lack conviction." Coulson said as the pool of blood around him grew bigger.

"I don't think I-" Loki was blasted through the wall by Coulson's weapon.

"So that's what it does." The human said with his last breath.

Alex ran to the hole Loki had fallen through, to find him already sitting up with a fierce scowl on his face. He stood up.

"Let's go." He said and dragged her along by her hand.

"Where are we going?" She panted as she hurried along.

"Stark Tower."


	9. Avengers

**Hi! I hope everyone's having a nice holiday! And if you don't have holidays, which I doubt, I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU!**

* * *

"Did you have to throw him down?" Alex asked as she let herself fall on one of the couches in Tony's living room. When they had arrived Loki had started to oversee the procedures but, as soon as he realised all was alright, he came to sit beside her.

"He won't die, we are immortal, remember?" He answered smirking.

"He's still your brother and he loves you." She muttered.

Loki glared. "I'm sorry, would you have thrown your parents down that thing?" His voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yes. But they would have died. And they don't love me," She turned to Loki. "Are you trying to take over the world just because you're pissed at your parents and brother?"

"No I'm-" He was cut off before he continued in a different tone, one that made him seem asleep. "They belong beneath me."

Alex raised her eyebrows before turning away again and grabbing a cigarette. She lit it and took a drag. Then, without looking back at her friend she asked:

"How can you tell if someone's being mind-controlled?"

"Why would you want to know that?"

"Because you're controlling people. If the mind control wore off of someone I want to be able to realise that." She lied. "Otherwise you might find yourself with impostors."

He hummed, thinking deeply before relaxing more on the couch and answering. "There is something deep in their eyes that makes you see they're not completely in control, the same blue shade of the Tesseract hides in their depths."

Alex blew some smoke upwards. Her eyes travelled around the room, finally resting on Loki, who was watching her intently. She didn't know what it was, this strange camaraderie. It wasn't as if she wanted to help him wipe out the planet, she just wanted to keep him safe because… because what? He understood?… he was like her?… Maybe both at once. She instinctively cared about him. Not like she cared about Trey, hell no, nobody would be as dear to her as Trey, but maybe as dear as Tony? Yes. She was not going to fight Tony, no way in hell. Alex would fight the Captain, she would even fight Thor or the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents for all she cared, but not Tony.

After she finished the cigarette she put out the but in an ash tray Tony had specifically bought for when she came over. Pulling herself up with a sigh she passed by Loki, trailing her fingers through his hair, making him give her an odd look. "Fine. Do what you want with your family. I'm gonna get changed."

"You have clothes with you?"

"Yeah." She showed him her bag. "Just one change but I don't wanna walk around covered in grime. I'm also gonna take a shower, you're cool with that right?"

"Why would I care? It's not my house." He drawled, raising an eyebrow.

She rolled her eyes. "You're the one with the evil-genuis-masterplan. Maybe you need me for something."

He shook his head. "No, nothing. Go ahead."

Nodding, she walked down a hallway to a large bathroom to freshen up. She called back over her shoulder: "Were you always out to kill your brother, or was that just a nice extra that came with my planet?"

She didn't get an answer and she really didn't need one because she knew him. She understood him. As angry as he was with his 'parents' and 'brother', he didn't originally plan on killing them. Wether he liked it or not, they were his family and she knew that not even he could actually kill them. Somewhere deep down he _wanted_ them to love him, he _needed _them to, that's why he hated them so, because they, his parents not Thor, wouldn't. Just like her parents refused to love her. She _knew._

* * *

Alex rubbed a towel all over her body, drying all the leftover water from the shower. She put on some leather trousers and a striped tank top. Her hair was tied up and water dripped down her neck and landed on her clothing, making it stick to her already chilled skin. She was about to put on her make-up when a shock passed through her.

She had left S.H.I.E.L.D.

She. Had. Left. S.H.I.E.L.D.

God, how could she be so stupid!

Trey!

She stumbled out of the bathroom, swinging her bag over her shoulder and struggling to put on her shoes. By some miracle she reached the room Loki was in without falling over and breaking an ankle, heels could be hell sometimes.

Loki had heard her stumbling down the hall and waited for her with a bemused expression on his face, which sobered up as soon as he saw her clear distress. She wasn't looking at him but rummaging in her bag for something. Her face brightened up slightly as she pulled out a cellphone. In a hurry she searched through her contacts and called one of them. Loki could tell she was not alright, she was shaking like a leaf and she was pale as flour. A brief flash of relief passed her face as whoever was on the other line picked up.

"Clara?… Yes, it's me, Alex. No- Clara- Clara, shut the fuck up! Who is watching Trey?" She nodded as 'Clara' answered. "Okay, thanks. No, I don't know if something's going on."

She started looking for another contact and put the phone back to her ear. Her eyes flickered to Loki for a second, seeing as he seemed slightly worried for her, and shook her head, trying to reassure him.

"Leo? Alex… No, I don't give a flying fuck about what you smoked the other day! How is Trey?…Oh, good." Relief covered her features before she froze about something this 'Leo' said. "What do you mean you can't see him? Wasn't he right there in front of you?" Panic started to taint her voice. "Did anyone take him?… I'll be right over to look for him with you."

She shoved the phone back in her bag and looked up at Loki. "Trey is…" She trailed off before making up her mind. "I love him. Fury said he would do something to him… I need to find him." She finished in a whisper. There was faintly veiled hysteria in her eyes.

Loki studied her for a second before nodding. "I don't have anything for you to do." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Go look for him."

The look she gave him was unlike any he had ever received before. It was filled with gratitude and warmth. She gave him a relieved smile and dashed off, tapping a code into the panel next to the elevator to get it to move and lowering herself to the lowest floor to go to Trey's house.

* * *

Nick Fury strode to the briefing room and dropped a bunch of trading cards on the table. Steve Roger's face smiled up at him from the withered and bloodied slabs of paper. They used to be perfect and now they were frayed and stained. He looked at the numb faces of Tony Stark and Steve Rogers.

"These were in Phil Coulson's jacket. Guess he never did get you to sign them." He turned away from the men and looked over the room. The agents working on the computers and overseeing the repairs seemed shaken, many sported small wounds and bruises.

"We're dead in the air up here." He continued. "Our communication, location of the cube, Banner, Thor. I've got nothing for you. Lost my good eye. Maybe I had it coming." He added, deep in thought. He turned back to the two men who were looking at him, still numb. "Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips in that number though, because I was playing something even riskier. There was an idea, Stark knows this, called the Avengers Initiative. The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in heroes."

At this moment Tony got up and left, without sparing Fury so much as a glance.

"Well, it's an old fashioned idea." Fury finished before turning to Hill to see what the damage was.

Steve stayed for a few seconds, mulling over what the director had said, before hurrying after Tony. There were some thing he wanted to talk to him about, one of them being the girl that had not been mentioned by the director though the most pressing ones being the Tesseract and Loki.

He found the scientist in the cell container. He was staring at the large blood stain against the wall. Before Steve could say anything he pulled out a small device and started typing something in a small blue keyboard. It showed a picture in the air in which the could see Alex dash into the cell room, talking to Loki for a few seconds before letting him out. They saw her just stand there as he dropped Thor and stabbed Coulson. They saw her run after Loki when he was blasted away and follow him willingly from the room.

Tony couldn't believe it… actually, yes, part of him could. What he couldn't believe is that she would follow Loki, but he knew that Loki was the type of person she could follow. More than Fury or anybody else. He could tell she had had a fascination since the second she laid eyes on him, the hatred that radiated off of him was the same she always had but never expressed. But still… how could she do this? Anger boiled inside him and he smashed the device in his hand on the floor. How could Alex betray him like that?

Steve could see the pain in Tony's face. He may not be friends with the man but that didn't mean he didn't care. He put a hand on Tony's shoulder and waited for him to look at him.

"I'm sure she had her reasons, Tony." He said gently, trying to get him to calm down.

Tony shook his head. "And she's going to tell me all about those precious reasons when I see her next." There was a faint tone of worry in his voice. Sure he was pissed at hell. She had gone with Loki. But it was Loki she had gone with, he could do anything to her, she had not only betrayed them, she had walked head first into danger. He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm. Then he turned back to the large stain.

"Was he married?" Steve asked.

"No, there was a… uh, cellist, I think."

"I'm sorry. He seemed like a good man."

"He was an idiot." Tony snapped.

"Why? For believing?" Steve asked, struggling to keep his cool.

"For taking on Loki alone."

"He was doing his job."

"He was out of his league." Tony shook his head frantically. "He should have waited, he should have…" He trailed off, not knowing what Coulson _should_ have done.

"Sometimes there isn't a way out, Tony." The blonde whispered.

Tony shook his hand off his shoulder. "Right. And how did that work for him?"

"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?"

The question seemed to snap something inside Tony. "We're not soldiers!" He yelled. "I am not marching to Fury's fife!"

"Neither am I!" Steve countered. "He's got the same blood on his hands as Loki does, but right now we need to set that aside and get this done." He rubbed his fingers on his temples and shut his eyes. "Now, Loki needs a power source. If we could put together a list-"

"He made it personal." Tony interrupted.

"That's not the point." Steve said in his most patient voice.

"That _is _the point, though. That's Loki's point. He hit us all right were we live. Why?" Tony said quickly, his mind working in a speed that confused the veteran.

"To tear us apart."

"He had to conquer his greed." Tony paced." But he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That's what he wants, he wants to beat us and he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience."

"Right, I caught his act in Stuttgart." Steve said, realising where Tony was going.

"Yeah. That's just a preview, this is opening night. Loki's a full-tilt diva, he wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built in the sky with his name plastered… son of a bitch!" Tony yelled and ran out of the room with Steve hot on his heels.

* * *

Alex ran to Trey's house. She frantically pushed away all the people in her way, not batting an eyelash at the insults called her way. After a few minutes she stopped, cursing, and took off her shoes, stuffed them in her bag and covered her feet with blood, whimpering as it burst through the pores of the skin on her feet. She kept running and arrived almost half an hour later, sweating and out of breath. The whole time panic had fuelled her. She had to get to Trey.

She knocked on the door loudly, calling into the house. "Trey! Mr. Jerry! Mrs. Jerry! Someone!" She kept banging the door until both mr and Mrs. Jerry opened, looking startled.

"What do you want?" Leah snapped, not letting Christoff speak.

Alex did a double take at her hostile tone. "I'm looking for Trey, is he here?"

"No. Not that you would know. Took advantage of him and then threw him away. Came back from looking for you with a broken heart." She whispered maliciously.

"I- I didn't mean to hurt him- I- I had things to do." She looked down and steeled her nerves. She had dealt with more difficult people before. She looked back up. "Is he here or not?"

"No, Alex." Christoff answered.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know. He got up early this morning and just left. We thought he went out to look for you."

Alex cursed and turned around. She ran away, leaving without explaining anything. The two adults looked at each other in confusion before walking back in the house.

The girl ran to her house, it was closer than Stark Tower but even so she was panting by the time she pushed open the door of the apartment. She knew Trey still had the key she gave him, he might have gone in. But she was only greeted by her parents' cold glares. Her mother opened her mouth to speak but Alex cut her off:

"Did Trey come here today?"

"Who?"

"Trey. A boy. My friend. Did he come here today?" She asked as she ran to her room to get some flat shoes. She dropped her bag on the floor and swept off the blood, wrapping it around her wrists with some more. She popped in a pill as she covered her arms with the blood and felt her body being replenished. She was thankful for the pills even if she felt like puking. Tony hadn't been kidding when he said they were gross. Tasted like old shoelaces and grime, not that she'd ever eaten any.

Alex tied her shoelaces and put on a jacket, shoving the small box of pills in her pocket and making sure she could get the blood out quickly before striding back to the living room.

"Well?" She snapped at her parents.

Her father was looking at her with surprise. His skin was still the unhealthy pale it used to be but his eyes were no longer foggy. Then the man turned around and kept ignoring her. Her mother glared at Alex until she saw the fury in her eyes.

Alex's hands started shaking as her eyes were fixed on her father's back. The fact that she was neck deep in panic did not help her a single bit as two thick strings of blood flowed out from under her sleeves and she slammed them against the walls.

She strode forwards and faced them. The disgust in her eyes made it so much more painful and sobs rocked her chest.

"I did nothing but love you." She whispered. "But you refuse to love me back…" She tried to shake off these thoughts, she did not need them right now. "Has Trey been here or not?"

Jennifer shook her head, fear evident in her eyes. Alex dropped them unceremoniously back on the floor and left the apartment, in a hurry to be away from her parents and looking for Trey. That is, until she saw the gaping black hole in the sky in the centre of the city. Cursing she took to a run again, heading for Stark Tower.

* * *

_Earlier_

"Time to go." Steve walked into the room Natasha was in.

The woman, startled, looked up at him. "Go where?"

"I'll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?"

"I can." Clint Barton walked out the toilet, looking at the Captain as if daring him to say no.

Steve turned to the Black Widow. She nodded and Steve turned back to Hawkeye. "You got a suit?"

"Yeah."

"Then suit up."

The three walked to the hangar where all the jets were stationed. SHIELD agents looked after them, some shaking their heads, some stepping back respectfully. None stood in their way until they got into the jet. A lone agent stood there.

"You guys aren't authorised to be in here…"

"Son, just don't." Steve stopped him and shoved him out the jet. He then took a seat and buckled his safety belt, waiting for the jet to take off.

* * *

Tony landed in his balcony, small ways away from where Dr. Selvig was working on a device containing the Tesseract. As soon as Tony got there Jarvis was giving him his updates.

"Sir, I took off the arc reactor. The device is already self-sustained."

Cursing, Tony turned to the physicist. "Shut it down, Dr. Selvig."

The old man turned to the owner of the tower. There was a mad glint in his eyes and, if Tony looked closely, a little blue shine in their depths. The doctor himself looked fine, physically at least, slightly ruffled but otherwise alright.

"It's too late!" He called out. "It can't stop now. He wants to show us something! A new universe."

"Okay." Tony answered and fired at the CMS. The energy fired did nothing to harm the device, it only knocked both men backwards and resounded throughout the city, calling many civilians' attention to the Tower.

"The barrier is pure energy, sir." Jarvis' voice sounded. "It's unreachable. The Mark VII is not ready to be deployed."

"Skip the spinning rims." Tony answered as he got up and walked to the doors. "We're on the clock." He turned and walked into the apartment, as he walked his suit was dismantled and, by the time he was inside, nothing of it remained on his body. Loki waited for him inside with a small smile on his face.

Tony walked to his bar casually, taking note of the cigarette but that had been put out in the ash tray on his coffee table. Without turning back to the god he asked:

"Where's Alex?"

"Not here."

Tony's eyebrow twitched. "I see. Did she come willingly?"

"Ah, very much so." Loki leaned against the back of one of the couches and smirked at him. "Please tell me you're going to appeal to my humanity."

"Uhh, actually, I'm planning to threaten you." Tony answered, his cocky tone back.

"You should have left on your armour for that."

"Yeah, it's seen a bit of a mileage, you've got the blue stick of destiny." Tony quipped. "Want a drink?" He held up a bottle.

"Stalling me won't change anything."

"No, no, no! Threatening." He emphasised the word and put a glass on the counter, pouring himself a drink. "No drink? You sure? I'm having one."

"The Chitauri are coming, nothing will change that. What have I to fear?" Loki asked sarcastically, stepping closer to Tony.

"The Avengers." Tony answered matter-of-factly. At Loki raised eyebrows he explained. "It's what we call ourselves, sort of like a team. 'Earth's mightiest heroes' type of thing." He drank the contents of his glass as Loki answered with a smile.

"I've met them."

Tony nodded, smiling as well. "Yeah, it takes us a while to get any traction, I'll give you that one." He walked around the bar, holding up his hands and counting on his fingers. "But let's do a headcount here. Your brother; a god, a super soldier; a living legend who kind of lives up to the legend, a man with breath-taking anger management issues, a couple of master assassins, and you, big fella, have managed to piss off every single one of them."

"That was the plan." Loki said, looking to the side, out of the window. His voice sounded slightly distant, and his look had a small hint of longing. For what, though, Tony couldn't tell.

Tony squinted, was it just a trick of the light or… blue eyes? He shook his head and continued. "Not a great plan. When they come, and they will, they'll come for you." He pulled two bracelets out from under the table and clasped them on his wrists.

"I have an army." Loki commented.

"We have a Hulk."

The god turned his attention back to Tony. "I thought the beast had wandered off."

"You're missing the point." Tony shook his head, his voice took a slightly desperate tone, desperate for him to understand. "There's no throne, there is no version of this where you come out on top. Maybe your army comes, and maybe it's too much for us, but it's all on you. Because if we can't protect the earth, you can be damn sure we'll avenge it."

Loki turned to look at him. A slightly pained expression passed over his features before the known mocking grin took hold. Slowly, he strode to Tony, raising is sceptre. Tony stood still, waiting for it to happen, but just before the metallic weapon touched him Loki turned his eyes to the window, mumbling something about promises.

Then the god looked at him and asked: "And will all of you be willing to rip through Alex to get to me, I wonder?"

While Tony gaped at him, Loki grabbed him by the throat and threw him out the window. There was no way Stark would die from that, no promises broken and the mortal was away from him. Problem solved.

From behind Loki a small red pod shot out of a crevice in the wall, following Tony and attaching itself to him. The suit wrapped itself around him and he flew back up to the window through which Loki was staring at him. Loki raised his sceptre, ready to fire, bur Tony shot first and Loki was propelled backwards.

"And there's one other person you pissed off!" Tony called out. "His name was Phil."

An earsplitting blast was heard from behind them, making them both whip around to look at Dr. Selvig. The machine had been activated and a beam of light shot up into the sky, opening a vortex that stabilised a portal to another dimension.


	10. Feathers

**HEYY. I'm sorry it took so long! If anyone has any ideas please let me know or otherwise pleaseeeeee just tell me if you like it... a simple review is very encouraging. :)**

* * *

"Aw shit. Aw fuck. Aw shit. Aw fuck." Alex kept repeating the words over and over as he saw dark figures emerge from the gaping hole in the sky. Flashes of red and gold told her Tony was fighting them but there was only one Iron Man and he wasn't enough. Chitauri slipped through and flew down towards the city. She could hear the screaming. Pillars of smoke reached upwards and litter and glass covered the streets. It wasn't even the Chitauri that had caused this, it was panic, mass panic. The Chitauri hadn't gotten that far.

The teen had to shove her path towards the tower, going against the current. It was too difficult, there were too many people, they were desperate, there was no way she was going to get there by herself. She turned into an alley to take a break. Why was she going back anyway? Loki and Tony. Fuck. She honestly did not want to go there but she had to fight, right? Fury… If Fury saw she had at least done something maybe he wouldn't send Trey away if he had him. Right, good plan. While trying to find Trey, occupy yourself by killing aliens.

She shook her head. Her face, she had to cover her face, there were news anchors all over the place. Grimacing in disgust, she covered her face with a layer of blood, giving herself a blank mask with only eye holes to look through. She could easily take it off, just make it float away from her face. She had been using her blood so much lately her control over it had improved, it was mostly subconscious now.

Gagging as she swallowed another pill, Alex formed a small platform under her feet, large enough to stand on, and attached herself to it. With a twitch of the head she lifted and experimentally moved it up, down, backwards and forwards. When she figured she would probably not fall to her death she relaxed a bit and swallowed another two pills, forming two thick hoops around herself. She paused a second as she gave her body some time to adjust to the high speed traffic of blood in and out of her body. Tony hadn't said anything but she knew that taking too many pills would probably harm her.

She zoomed up and out of the alley, passing over people's heads, quickly heading to the Tower. When she got there it took all the courage she had not to turn tail and run. There were Chitauri flying all over the place, Tony was speeding from one place to the next, gunning down aliens. The police were scattered on the ground, doing their best to maintain control of the situation and keeping the citizens safe. A crash resounded in the sky and Alex turned to look. Thor and Loki were fighting. Even from a large distance she could tell that it was them.

Suddenly a Chitauri flew at her, brandishing a large spear. Before she knew it, a small amount of blood had shot through it's throat and it was tumbling down to the ground. Alex's eyes regarded the blood floating around her in wonder. Automatically? Reflex? Her reflex was to kill whatever came her way? Her fists started flexing and her breathing became laboured. What was she, some kind of… animal? Or… or…had her parents been right? What-

"Alex watch out!"

Her eyes flew open and a blood barrier blocked the path of an alien that had been about to decapitate her. In return she swung her arm at it, making blood swipe forwards and decapitate it. Then she turned to Tony, who was a small ways away from her, staring.

"We'll talk later!" She called out. "Kill Chitauri first!"

He looked as if he wanted to disagree for a second before taking off back towards the main group of Chitauri. He dodged their attacks and sent little missiles at them before turning around an getting a few civilians out of the line of fire.

Alex hesitated for a second before lowering her 'floating platform thing', she hadn't figured out what to call it yet, and started to help people get away. At first they all looked at her with distrust, until she easily took out two Chitauri heading their way. Those things were way too slow. Then they all followed her while she covered for them, they got to a subway entrance and she left them there, hurrying back to help more civilians out. This time it was easier since they had seen her help the other people, but they all still stared at her in suspicion. Good thing she had a mask covering all of her face or the pictures they had hurriedly taken would have been a shit ton of trouble.

The sound of a machine gun made Alex turn back to the street Tony had been on first, a huge SHIELD jet was shooting at the Chitauri. Apparently, Romanov and the Captain had decided to get off their asses and help out. She hurried and pushed some civilians out of the way, forming a thick shield before herself so the bullets wouldn't hurt her. As soon as she was out of the range of fire she let the bullets that had been imbedded in the shield drop to the ground where they were lost among the rubble. Her head whipped around as the jet turned to Stark Tower, a gun was pointed straight at Loki.

Alex's heart froze. But it wasn't necessary, not only did Loki set fire to the jet, Thor also pushed him out of the way before he could get hurt. She'd _told_ Loki that Thor loved him. Not that he was all that in control of himself at the moment. She should tell the others before they hurt him but she knew Thor would do no such thing, or at least not extensively. Loki had magic, he could probably heal himself well. Still, she headed that way as quick as she could.

The jet was on fire but the pilot made it seem easy to land it on the street without a skirmish. Seconds later, the Black Widow, Captain America and Hawkeye ran out, staring upwards at the huge Chitauri flying out of the portal. It looked slightly like a whale but it was much, much larger and it carried hundreds of little, normal, Chitauri. They were jeering at their surroundings, lifting their weapons and chanting something in their language.

Thor and Loki were fighting, wrestling almost, but as was expected, Thor won when it came to something plainly physical. He wrapped Loki's arms around Loki and forced him to look at the city, which had a layer of destruction that tainted even the most vibrant colours of signs grey.

"Look at this! Look around you!" Thor shouted. "You think this madness will end with your rule?"

For a second, the blue shine in Loki's eyes vanished and he struggled to turn his eyes away from the destruction he had caused. He had done this, unwillingly, but ultimately he _had_.

"It's too late. It's too late to stop it." Loki whispered. Then he scrunched up his face with the pain of the Chitauri forcing themselves back into his head. His eyes were blue again.

Thor's eyes looked at him with confusion. Hadn't his brother's eyes been green? He racked his head for memories. Yes, always, his eyes had only ever been green… He stopped his train of thought as soon as he felt something stab him in the gut. A dagger was firmly lodged in his stomach, Loki's hand was still on the hilt. He looked at his brother in anger and lifted him off the ground before slamming him back down harshly. Blood dribbled across Loki's pale skin before he rolled to his side, over the edge, and fell. Thor could only look incredulously as Loki fell to what he though was a very painful escape, until, out of nowhere, a small figure caught him by the hand and lifted him on the red plate it was standing. The blonde god could faintly recognise the young Alex girl's voice as she sped away, all the time shouting at Loki for being careless.

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" Alex shouted, making sure she still had a firm hold of Loki so he wouldn't fall. Apparently having him with her meant that the Chitauri would leave her alone because she flew across the street and they weren't attacked once. " Are you out of you idiotic, egotistical mind? Never mind, I know you're fucking insane, Loki! Rack your brains for one fucking second, what if I hadn't been there to catch your sorry ass?"

"Then the landing would have been painful." Loki stated calmly as he wiped blood off his face with his free hand. He was secretly pleased for two things, one; she seemed able to protect herself from Chitauri so she wasn't dead, and two; she had actually come for him, his trust wasn't misplaced. The fact that she was yelling at him and insulting him slipped his mind for the moment.

"Yeah, well..." They landed on a rooftop and she turned the blood into two basketballs that stayed floating around them. "I'm not gonna catch you next time, Loki. I'm not your babysitter, I have to get these civilians away from here." She ran her hands through her hair as she took deep, calming breaths. This was slowly getting to be too much. Trey missing, Tony fighting, being attacked, automatically killing, stressed because fuck, she had betrayed one of America's security organisations and then! Loki was suicidal!… Well maybe not suicidal but the point was made! Too many things at once. Her breathing sped up but she forced herself to listen to what the god beside her was saying.

Loki raised an eyebrow. "So you are fighting neither with me, nor against me?"

"I'm not gonna hurt the Avengers, that will only get Fury pissed at me and me very hurt, but I'm also not gonna fight you." She said, finally forcing herself to be calm. Having a nervous breakdown was not going to help her right now. Her eyes turned to a Chitauri that landed close to them, waiting for Loki to get on the chariot.

The god nodded, he placed a hand on her shoulder. For a second his eyes flickered green. Alex took this chance to talk to him, the real him.

"I'll talk to them. We'll stop them and help you."

There was barely time for the corners of his mouth to twitch upwards before the blue had flooded his eyes again. He looked as if he had missed what she had said so she shook her head and pushed him to the chariot. Without a word, he stepped on it and flew away.

Alex felt three pairs of eyes burn holes in her back and she turned to see the other Avengers staring at her from the ground. They seemed about to shout something but a loud screaming interrupted them. A group of people was being cornered against a few tilted cars, there was one officer present but he was having difficulty keeping the aliens at bay. Black Widow and Captain America rushed to help them, leaving Hawkeye to take out some more Chitauri, but once they got there they found the assailants dead on the ground. Bells was floating in the air, standing on a platform of her own blood with streams of the same liquid floating around her and covering her face like a mask. She was shouting at the officer to take them to a subway station where the could all hide. Other civilians had taken refuge there too.

As all the people were guided away, Alex reluctantly dropped next to the two adults, taking off her mask. She looked at the ground stubbornly.

"I'm not sorry." She said. "But that doesn't mean I'm not gonna help these people."

Steve looked at her coldly for a second. "We'll talk about this later."

He turned away and headed towards the battlefield again, slamming down aliens and helping trapped people get away. Natasha looked at Alex for a second, offered her a nod, and left. Alex followed closely behind, she fastened a smaller platform under her, almost like a skateboard, and used the extra blood to protect herself.

* * *

"Just like Budapest all over again!" Natasha called over to Clint as she gunned down a few Chitauri from behind a car.

"You and I remember Budapest very differently." He mumbled as he landed beside her.

They both ducked as an alien flew over their heads, propelled by the force with which a large spear of blood had stabbed him in the chest. The agents glanced at Alex but she wasn't paying any attention to them, she was just standing on the platform in a crouched position, moving her hands every now and then to control her blood more easily. Clint shrugged and went back to shooting Chitauri, Natasha followed his example shortly afterwards.

Steve ran over a few toppled cars, making sure to take out any enemies that attacked him in the process. The fact that they were cooperating with someone who had willingly deserted them gnawed at his stomach, though the feeling was pushed down harshly as he regained his concentration. He turned his attention to a few cops not far away from where he was. He could faintly make out what they were shouting at each other as they desperately tried to protect themselves.

"We need to get out!" The youngest was shouting. "They gotta bring the National Guard!"

"National Guard? Does the army know what's happening here?" The older one asked.

"Do we?"

The Captain jumped towards them, landing in front of them and ignoring the gobsmacked looks his suit gained him. He started pointing at different building while giving instructions.

"I need men in these buildings. There are people inside that can run into the line of fire. You take them through the basement or through the subway, you keep them off the streets. I need a perimeter as far back as 39th."

The older cop turned red. "Why should I take orders from you?"

All his doubt were dissipated as the Captain took care of two Chitauri that came at them in the blink of an eye. Well, a blink for them, Steve didn't bat an eyelash.

"I need men in those buildings, lead the people down and away from the streets. I need a perimeter as far back as 39th…" He started ordering.

Steve just rolled his eyes.

* * *

Thor landed shortly after taking out a wave of Chitauri with lightning. The agents, Captain and Alex,who stood back a bit, turned to him. Thor looked slightly shaken but his voice was steady. He didn't notice Alex. She had removed her mask, mostly, and only kept a small amount covering the lower part of her face, this way it didn't hinder her vision. That had been a mistake seeing as she now sported a deep gash on her shoulder. She hadn't seen her assailant and he had been able to injure her. Luckily the wound didn't bleed because she wouldn't let it.

"What's the story upstairs?" Steve asked.

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable." Thor answered, looking grim.

"Thor's right. We gotta deal with these guys." Tony's voice sounded from their earpieces.

"How do we do this?" Natasha's voice sounded distracted as she scanned their surroundings for oncoming attacks.

"As a team." Steve said.

Alex bit back a snort.

"I have unfinished business with Loki." Thor bit out.

"Yeah? Get in line." Clint mumbled.

"Keep your hands off him, Feathers." Alex's voice cut through the conversation like a knife, alerting everyone to her presence. They looked at her wearily.

"What's he to you?" Barton asked, choosing to ignore the nickname but not being able to help the way it laced his voice with irritation. He stepped closer, looking her up and down. She was considerably shorter than him, he could only imagine how dwarfed she was by the Captain and Thor.

"None of your business." She paused. "I would think you would know your own brother's eye colour, Thor." She commented idly as she threw a glance at the blonde.

"It's green." Thor answered immediately, not knowing where she was going with this. The other's looked between them, confusion masking their faces.

Alex rolled her eyes. "Then I wonder why they're currently blue… any ideas, Feathers?"

Hawkeye's eyes widened as realisation kicked in.

"You… you're sure?" That couldn't be. Why hadn't he noticed… he had. He'd seen the blue eyes he'd just assumed that blue was his natural eye colour, he'd noted that his own eyes were of the same shade he'd just assumed that the colour changed to mimic whoever was controlling him.

"Positive."

"What's this about?" Steve asked.

"We'll explain later." Alex cut him off. "Right now…" She lifted an arm and moved blood to grab a Chitauri heading their way. She closed her hand, effectively crushing the alien. Clint winced.

"I don't think we have the time. As Tony said, we gotta deal with the Chitauri."

All of their attention was suddenly pulled to the sound of a small motorbike heading their way. They could, from such a distance, slightly make out the figure of Dr. Banner sitting on the miniature vehicle that, even with him in his human form, was too small for him. They waited as he stopped before them and let the bike fall to the ground. An awkward silence ensued as he figured out what to say. He gestured around them.

"So this all seems horrible."

Alex's snickers sounded behind them but they ignored her, except for Barton who hesitatingly clapped her on the back when she seemed to choke on her own saliva. It turned out it was some blood from the remnants of her mask that she had accidentally swallowed. She nodded at him.

"I've seen worse." Natasha continued.

"Sorry." Banner looked at all of them, noting that the teenage girl's face betrayed her discomfort at his apology, though he couldn't for the life of him figure out why.

"No. We could use a little worse." Natasha encouraged him.

"Stark?" Steve called into his com device. "We got him."

"Banner?" They heard him ask.

"Just like you said."

"Then tell him to suit up, I'm bringing the party to you." Tony's voice was tense, if anything, but they could make out a slight amount of amusement in it. Iron Man flew around a few buildings and into their view, his paint was scratched in various places but seemed alright. There were no dents in the metal, not parts missing, no smoke… He only seemed in a hurry. This was explained when they noticed that he was closely followed by the large whale-like alien. It smashed buildings as it passed, leaving a trail of smoke and flying debris behind him. There were no wounds on it, nothing imbedded in the tough skin, there was not even a stain on the thick armour.

The Avengers on the ground froze, all hands inching towards their weapons though, if what they saw was real, no weapon would help.

"I… I don't see how that's a party." Natasha said, voicing everybody's thought on the matter. Except Alex's.

"Goddamit Tony!" She yelled. "We take our eyes off you for one second and then this?! You mother fucking lunatic, you wanna get us all killed? What the fuck were you thinking?!"

Tony's snorts were the only answer she got.


End file.
